


Just like Playing a Game

by LollipopDollie



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Gore, Child Abuse, Demons, Dialogue Heavy, Drugs, Eventual Smut, Fluff, Ghosts, Homophobia, Horror, Humor, Jealousy, Kinks, Manipulation, Masturbation, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Mutual Pining, Porn With Plot, Racism, Religious Conflict, Self Confidence Issues, Self-Reflection, Slow Burn, Surreal, Tags May Change, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-09-14 18:37:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16918185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LollipopDollie/pseuds/LollipopDollie
Summary: Sal Fisher did not know himself as well as he thought he did.Among dealing with demons and a cult, he finds himself questioning his identity and his relationships. Can he find true happiness underneath the layers of trauma that he tells himself isn't there? Can he deal with his life being completely ripped out from beneath his feet?[On Hiatus]





	1. Press Start

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic ever. Dipping my toes into something before taking original writing by the horns.  
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Feedback is very welcome.  
>  **Edit:** you can follow me on Tumblr! lollipopdollie.tumblr.com

Sal lay sprawled out on Todd’s bedroom floor; Larry sat with his back against Todd’s bed; Todd clacked away at his computer. The three were shootin’ the shit, mostly ideas of what to do about the ghosts of Addison Apartments and the Cult. The Red Eyed Demon was apparently gone, but they had no idea if it could come back. Getting rid of it had been too easy.

Sal racked his brain for any ideas. So far all their ideas were half-baked and they were left completely empty handed. _‘Wait.’_ “Holy fuck!” Sal tugged on his pigtails and rolled onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows. “Guys, we’ve been so dumb!”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t yell at us, Sally Face.” Todd swung his chair around to face the little blue-haired boy, folding his hands over his lap. “Go on.”

“Okay, so you know how the demon was summoned through a ritual, right? What if we do our _own_ ritual? Like a sealing ritual or something.”

“The idea did cross my mind… But I thought that it may have been too dangerous for us to attempt. There is a good chance that we will be required to sacrifice something. Or someone.”

Sal clasped his hands in front of the mouth of his prosthetic and let out a tinny huff. “Well, it wouldn’t hurt to _look_ , right?”

Todd turned back to his computer. “I suppose not. I’ll try to find similar rituals and ceremonies to what may have summoned the Red Eyed Demon and attempt at finding other rituals in the same religion or culture that have the opposite effect.”

“Sounds good. Larry and I can head to the library later and see if we can find any books on witchcraft or something.”

“Dude, the library sucks!” Larry threw back his head and let out an over-exaggerated groan.

Todd slowly turned around in his chair and made direct eye contact with Larry. “That hurt my _soul,_ ” he rasped, pointing to his chest. Slow turn back. That was the funniest thing Sal experienced that day. _‘Thanks, Todd.’_ Larry was left flabbergasted, his lips quivering in a flat line. He wanted to laugh, but he wasn’t sure if that would have been appropriate for him to do. Sal could ugly-laugh for the both of them.

After he collected himself, Sal jumped to his feet, clapping his hands together. “Okay! We’ve been here all day, it’s late, and now we have some sort of plan. Todd, you do your usual research stuff. Larry and I will head to the library tomorrow after school-- Larry, don’t start--”

“I didn’t even say anything!” Larry got a cold, blank stare from Sal. Only being able to see his eyes made it worse.

“You were going to. I know you too well, _boy_. Anyhow, I’d like to go relax. I don’t want nightmares tonight; I get more than enough of those.”

“Oh! Oh! You should hang out with me tonight! It’s been a while.” Larry shot up and clamped his hands on Sal’s shoulders.

“Oi, big guy, careful.” _‘You’re more excited than you should be?’_ He pat his friend’s hand. “It has been a long time since I spent the night. It’d be fun. You coming, too, Todd?”

Todd lolled his head side to side, considering. “I’ll respectfully decline. I should plan out my next D&D session instead. You understand.”

“Oh yeah. I keep forgetting to bug Maple about the deets of your last session.” Sal gave Larry’s hand a good squeeze.

“If I’m being honest, you two need to spend some quality alone time together.”

The blue-haired boy felt his skin heat up, and he was so glad that no one could see his face flush, as the air grew heavy between him and his-far-taller-and-nicely-built friend ( _‘you’ve been having a lot of gay thoughts, Sal’_ ). Larry made an attempt at lightening up the mood: “let us rekindle our brotherhood.” Sal let out an exasperated wheeze. _‘Good try, buddy.’_

 

 

After messing around for a little while longer, the trio said their goodbyes and moved on to other plans. Now it was just Sal and Larry. Together. In the elevator. In a small space. Sal thought back to what Todd had said. _‘Is it really that obvious? I mean, I haven’t come out as bi, I’m not even sure if I_ _**am** _ _bi. I’m not even sure I like Larry like that anyway. Isn’t there this thing about humans falling in love with people we spend a lot of time with automatically out of convenience? I’ll entertain the idea of Larry being a very handsome man, but if that whole “we humans are lazy lovers”_ _thing_ _is true then I should really wait to see if I still like him after a few_ _more_ _months. Sort myself out.’_

“Hey little dude, you’re spacin’ out on me. What’s up?” Larry waved his hand in front of Sal’s face.

“Whoa. Oh, sorry. I’m just thinking about a lot of stuff.” He rolled himself back and forth on the balls of his feet, almost falling over when the elevator stopped. _‘Nice going, Sally.’_

“No need to apologize, little buddy. You’ve been distant and spacey a lot lately. You wanna talk about it?” Good ole Larry, too nice for his own good.

“I’d rather not. At least for now.” _‘_ _Or never.’_ “Why don’t you head down while I go get my stuff?”

“Uh, sure.” Larry gave Sal a light pat on his head as he left the elevator. Weird, but nice. _‘Very firm, big hands. Mmm-- oh my god, stop.’_ Sal waved at Lar as the doors closed.

Henry was away on a business trip and wouldn’t be back until after the weekend. Sal couldn’t help but pace around the apartment, completely lost in his own thoughts. Gizmo was fine, and he had a go-bag for when he wanted to stay at Larry’s after a particularly scary nightmare. “But grabbing that and heading down just makes me seem desperate? Oh my god, literally what am I worried about?” He chewed his lip and stared blankly out at the kitchen. “I like Larry. I think? Well, I went through this shit with Ash and I’m over her now. Par for the course of my life, _I guess_. Why is this frustrating me? Maybe it’s because it’s my best friend and I don’t wanna ruin anything and how could anyone possibly be attracted-- I’m spiraling.” He took a few deep breaths, trying to ground himself. “Just stop thinking about it. Whatever happens, happens. Go down and see Larry, Sal. There’s nothing to worry about.”

After psyching himself out some more, Sal grabbed his bag and pajamas and headed to the basement. He was met with a surprise hug as soon as the elevator doors opened. “Oof! Okay, as much as I enjoy being assaulted, at least wait until I’m in your home before you violently smash my mask into my face.”

“Sorry ‘bout that, li’l dude. I just missed this.” Lar gave Sal’s shoulders a squeeze before dragging him into his apartment by the hand. Sal had very little time to react before Larry unbuckled the straps of his prosthetic face and threw it onto the couch, pulling him into another hug.

“Shit… I’m sorry. I… I’ve been going through a lot since the summer started, I guess.” He rubbed his hands up and down Lar’s back.

The brunet buried his face into the crook of his friend’s neck. “You’re not the only one.” _‘Fucking ouch.’_ “You don’t have to deal with this shit alone, Sally Face. I got your back.”

“I know, Larry Face. I just… I don’t know if I _want_ to talk about what I’ve been going through, you know? Sometimes you just want to keep things to yourself.”

“Is it about your mom?”

“Oh man, things would be a lot easier if it was.”

Larry pulled back from his so very tiny friend. “How could _that_ be easier to deal with?”

Sal sighed. Wouldn’t hurt to give him some info, right? “Well, I’ve been really unsure of myself lately, but I think I have a crush on someone. A guy, specifically. And I’m almost entirely sure he’s straight. And I don’t want to make things awkward between me and him. I feel like I shouldn’t even be saying anything about this, either. It’s stupid that I’m even this caught up in a crush. We deal with ghosts and a cult and I’m here like ‘oh no, me like boy’ like a fucking asshole.”

“Hey, hey, calm down.” He cupped Sal’s cheeks, stroking them with his thumbs. “It’s okay to be afraid n’ confused over somethin’ that could have a big impact on your life, bud. Nothin’ to feel bad about. Hell, I know how you feel.”

“I’m so tired of it, Larry. I really, really am. My priorities are fucked up.”

Larry shook his head. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Can we just go play video games or something? I want my mind off of this.”

The evening was fun. For a few hours Sal didn’t think about his feelings for Larry. That changed after they went to bed. Sally stayed curled up in a ball on Larry’s beanbag chair, facing away from him. He had dreams of him, despite Sal’s best efforts to quell those thoughts. He woke up several times that night feeling very horny.

It was a long, long night.


	2. Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes a small interaction can have big consequences.

Sal could feel fingers being gently brushed through his bangs. His eye fluttered open to see Larry laid next to him on the beanbag. “Mornin’, little dude.”

“Ugh. I’d feel more alive if I were dead, I’m that exhausted.” He saw Larry tilt his head.

“Did you have nightmares? You could’ve woken me up, y’know.”

“No, no, not nightmares per se. Just… Very _charged_. Don’t ask me what I mean by that.”

Larry just nodded. “Alright. We should get dressed though, mom’s makin’ pancakes.”

“Aw hell yeah. I love pancakes.” Sal uncomfortably lifted himself off the beanbag, Larry helping him by pushing on his back. “Now leave, the prince gets dressed first.”

“The prince?”

“The prince. Be respectful, you bitch.” Sal gave a wave of his hand, his fingers curled inward. He earned a laugh from Larry, who shook his head and left the room. He didn’t have the energy to really get dressed, so he hoped he didn’t have much in his go-bag. He pulled out a black t-shirt dress with an open pentagram on the back and a pastel blue leather o-ring choker. _‘_ _Is this all I packed? Oh well, I’m not complaining.’_ He threw them on and brushed out his hair. He grabbed a hair-tie and put it up in a high ponytail. Too tired to do pigtails that look nice. _‘My hair’s really fluffy. I should wear it like this more often.’_ Now it was time to put in his glass eye. The worst experience of his morning, gross and uncomfortable.

“Alright, Larry Face, you can have your room back!” He called out as he left. The smell of pancakes, syrup, and butter wafted towards him and he lost all other thoughts. He floated towards the kitchen. “Food food food food food.”

“Oh Sal, you look so cute.” Lisa was setting plates down at the table. She was so caring and hospitable towards Sal. Henry really appreciated it, since he worked tirelessly to make ends meet and frequently had to leave on business trips. He should call his dad after school.

“Yeah, but let’s see if I get dress coded again and sent home.”

“Has that really happened?” Lisa shook her head. “That’s wrong.”

“It is. I’m lucky I’m not _actually_ trans or something. But dad’s not here so I’d just be sent home. It wouldn’t be a good idea to fight the staff on it, either, as much as I’d like to.” Sal violently slammed himself into his chair.

“A tired boy makes an angry boy.” Larry came up from behind Sal and hugged him. He could feel the smaller teen flinch and tense.

“Thanks for scaring the _shit_ out of me!” He started swatting his friend’s arm, giving a low whine.

“Boys, no fighting. I have to leave to go fix Mrs. Gibson’s sink and I’d like to come back to both of you being alive.”

“Hey mom, if we did fight, who d’you think would die first?”

“Sal wouldn’t need to fight you; he can very easily charm you.”

The three shared a laugh, albeit Sally’s mind was elsewhere. _‘Charm him? Hah, I wish.’_ He hadn’t even noticed when Lisa had left, nor when it was time to leave. He couldn’t even remember if he actually ate much.

 

 

Prowling through cliques and groups, she spots her prey: Sal Fisher. He’s at his locker, alone with Larry. They’re chatting, enjoying themselves. Sal’s digging into his locker, looking for something. His back is exposed, giving her a great idea. She reaches into her bag…

“We should ask Todd if he wants us to meet up after our library trip-- Larry please-- because I need to make food tonight.”

“You out of food?”

“Yes? I just need to bulk cook so that I have leftovers. I’m too lazZYY!” He felt something frozen cold be jammed into his spine, right between his shoulder blades. He seized up and let out a bloodcurdling howl before spinning around on his heels. “Aasssshhhlllleeeyyy, what the _fuck_!?” He was absolutely livid. You might have been able to see a vein pop in his forehead if you could see his face at all.

Ash just laughs at Sal. “Aw, c’mon, you really didn’t expect me to jab your bare back with an ice cube?”

Sal let out a low growl. “I’ll get you back for this.”

“And perpetuate this sick cycle of Ashley Campbell – Sal Fisher violence?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely, you asshole.” Sally turned to slam his locker door shut, his ponytail being whipped around behind him. Flinging his backpack on, he strut away from his two friends like an utter diva. What he was going for almost worked, until he had to go back and get Larry. “We have the same class.” His whole shtick was ruined.

“Wait wait wait.” Larry looped his arm around Sal’s shoulders and pulled him against his body. “Me and Sal are heading to the library after school--”

“The library?”

Larry faked gagging. “Yes, the library.”

“You know he’ll die in there, right Sally?”

“He can suck it up.”

“We’re gonna look for shit on witchcraft--”

“ _Witchcraft_?” Ash was incredulous. What were these two twits getting themselves into?

“Could ya maybe stop interrupting me? We’re trying to figure out what to do about the cult and shit. It’s the only thing we got right now.”

“That makes sense, I guess. What about Todd?”

Larry was about to answer, but he was cutoff by some guy shouting “ _ **trap**_!” as he walked by. He grit his teeth, ready to kick some ass, before he felt Sal’s hand run up and down his chest. “Let it go. Let it go.” His voice was low, sweet almost, and calm. “It’s not a big deal.”

Larry inhaled through his nose, held it, then exhaled. “About Todd,” he nuzzled the top of Sal’s head, “we’re going to ask him when we’re gonna meet up next. At lunch, maybe.”

Ash nodded, showing an incredible amount of restraint instead of chasing after the asshat who dared to just harass her dear friend like that. She shifted on her feet. “We should head to class before the bell. Maybe… Maybe Sal would be safer there.”

They said their goodbyes, Ash heading in the opposite direction of Larry and Sal. The two boys had the same class together that morning. They traveled in silence. It was broken when Sally simply placed his bag in his seat and said “I’m going to the restroom.” He didn’t hesitate to turn and leave, trying not to look like he was rushing. His heels left a steady yet harsh _click clack click clack_ reverberating through the nearly empty hallway. He needed to be alone.

He pushed his way into the boys’ restroom, clambering his way into a stall and locking it behind him. He took off his mask and placed it on the hook, burying his face in his hands. _‘Ugh, goddammit! Why am I so bothered by this!? Stupid shit like some asshole being bigoted towards me shouldn’t be getting to me!’_ He felt sobs wrack his rib cage and a ghastly wail spill out of his mouth. _‘I am so fucking pathetic right now.’_

He heard the door open and he sucked in his breath so sharply he felt like his lungs might explode. _‘Be quiet be quiet be quiet.’_ He waited for whomever it was to leave, but instead he was met with “Sally?”

“… Travis?” He hesitated to answer. He didn’t really want anyone around him right now, no matter who it was.

“Are you crying?” The one question he definitely didn’t want to hear.

“Yes. I am. What do you want?” It came out a lot more agitated than Sal intended.

“I saw you rush in here… I-- I heard what that jockey prick screamed at you.”

“You and god knows how many other _fucking_ people!”

“Is that what’s bothering you? Having a bunch of people hear you be mistreated?”

“No, no… I-- I’m just fucking exhausted, I have literally no patience for bullshit today.”

“I think it bothers you anyway, even if you _can_ normally deal with it. And… That’s okay. It’s okay to be upset when someone verbally abuses you. Although I don’t think you need to be told that.”

Sal put his mask back on and came out of the stall. “Actually I did need to hear that today.” He hugged him. Travis’ skin burned from the touch, his face turning beet red. “Hah. Now you’re the one calming _me_ down in the bathroom. It’s a testament to how far you’ve come.”

Travis hummed, giving Sal a reassuring squeeze. He pulled Sal away from him, giving Travis a good look at the blue-haired boy. “Damn Sal, you look hot!” The words were blurted out before he realized what he had said. “I am so, so sorry.”

Sal gave him a good twirl, then winked. “Glad you like it, _honey_.” He gave a slight drawl to his voice; may as well tease him a little bit. Seeing Travis stop functioning was exactly what he needed at that moment, and him being appreciated for his looks made the previous comments disappear from his mind entirely. He grabbed Travis’ hand (the sound he made churned something hot in his gut) and pulled him out of the restroom. Larry immediately ran into them.

“Hey.” The look he gave the both of them was full of disapproval that even Sal could tell. “What took you so long?”

“I, uh, kinda had a meltdown.” Sal suddenly turned sheepish, prodding the floor with his shoe tip. Travis ran his thumb over the back of his hand.

“Hey, before I have to let you go, the carnival’s here… If you’re free this weekend.”

“He’s going there with us.” Larry interjected before Sal could say anything, crossing his arms.

“You could come with us! You have class with Ash, yeah? Just ask her.”

“Um, okay. I’ll see you later?”

“Sure!” Sal chirped at him, making his heart thud against his chest. Travis walked off towards his class and Larry didn’t hesitated to grab Sally by the arm and pull him away.

The bell rang, leaving the duo no time to argue.

 

 

“I just don’t see what your problem is.” It was warm out, sunny with almost clear skies. It was a beautiful summer day, right before it peels away for fall. Larry was ruining it.

“You _know_ I hate Travis. How can you be all buddy-buddy with someone who’s punched you?”

“People can change, Larry! There are very few people out in the world who don’t deserve a second chance, and Travis is _not_ one of those people.”

“Sally’s right, Larry.” Todd had decided to tag along with the two boys, and while he mostly kept behind them and out of their argument (which they’ve been having since the day ended), he couldn’t help but give input every now and again. “You are the only one of our friend group to still have hangups with him. It would be healthier for _you_ if you took his intentions at face value.”

“He’s just upset because I’m real hands-y with him. My sweet lovely Lar Bear is jeeeaaaloous.”

“I am _not_!” Larry snapped, loud and harsh. Sally didn’t say anything until they got to the library.

Once inside, Sal went straight to the lady up front. “Excuse me, but do you have any books on witchcraft, the occult, and the like? We’re doing a history project.”

The woman lead him to and fro in the library, ending with an entire stack that would be a lot to carry back home. _‘If I don’t have back problems now, then I will after this.’_

They thanked the lady and went off on their way home, none of them wishing to engage in conversation. The atmosphere between Larry and Sal was just too tense for Todd’s liking.

“I think we should continue our discussions tomorrow,” Todd proposed as the three boys entered their apartment building. Sal just nodded. Larry gave no reaction. Todd went home first, leaving Sally surprised when Larry got off with him and entered his apartment.

Sal was being sent through a loop. He didn’t understand why Larry was this upset, didn’t understand why he was arguing with him and giving him the silent treatment in his own home, his safe space. What was his problem?

Sal tried to go about business as usual, start cooking food like he planned to, but his mind kept racing. _‘What if Larry stops being friends with me over this shit, because I want to give some guy who likes me my time? Could Larry hate Travis more than he likes me? What do I do if he does? I love him so much, I just want to bury my face in his chest and I want him to make all the bad thoughts go away. Don’t cry, don’t cry. Fuck.’_ He couldn’t stop himself. He never was one for being calm or level-headed. He felt Larry wrap his arms around him and he found himself crying harder. He wanted Lar to tell him that everything was okay, call him “baby” and give him kisses, reassure him that he loved him and nothing would change that.

“I’m sorry.” Larry barely spoke above a whisper, right into Sal’s ear. It sent chills up his spine. “I’m afraid of him takin’ you away from us, away from me, and hurtin’ you. That doesn’t excuse how I’ve been acting towards you.”

“No, it doesn’t. What the hell are you even trying to accomplish?”

“I just wanna protect you.”

“From what!?”

“Everything.”

“But you can’t.”

“I know I can’t, but I wanna try.”

“No, you can’t ‘try’ either. Doing that completely takes away my agency to make decisions for myself. And if that’s the case, then I need protecting from you.”

He felt Larry let go and move away from him, and Sal spun around to see realization dawn on his face. “I’m sorry” was all he said before he left the apartment, nearly sprinting.

Sal abandoned trying to make dinner. Instead, he lay on the couch. He couldn’t discern what he felt about the situation, and didn’t want to think about it more than he had to.

Maybe he should call his dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, another chapter the next day. I'm a little crazy.  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Delicate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Like a flower  
> Like a flower  
> You bend to another's touch  
> Another's will  
> You don't do well, either,  
> When you lose your head

“Hi, dad”

“Heya, kiddo. Wazup?” Henry slurred his words together.

“Are you drunk?”

“I’m a li’l tipsy. I went out to the bar. Celebrate our victories.”

“Did you drive?” Sal’s heart stopped in his chest. He didn’t want to lose both parents.

“No, no, no… The bar’s a five minute walk from the hotel.” He almost let out a sigh of relief, but if his father heard he didn’t know if they’d start fighting. Not today.

“Okay. How has the trip been?”

“Stuffy. But bars’re fun.”

‘ _Yeah, because you’re an alcoholic.’_ “Well, so long as you have an escape.”

“How’ve you been, bud?”

“I’ve been fine. I fought with Larry today though. That sucked. He’s too overprotective, and he’s starting to cross the line.”

He heard Henry hum through the phone, thoughtful. “You two will figure it out, don’ worry. Me n’ Diane always made up in the end. Mmm… I miss her, bud.”

“So do I, dad. So do I.”

They spoke for about a half hour, not really about anything at all. It reassured Sal that his father wasn’t inebriated, so he could stop worrying. Worrying about his father’s safety and his self control affected Sal a lot more than he liked to admit. He told himself that everything was fine.

After hanging up, he took the books he got at the library and set them out on the coffee table. He then went into his bedroom and changed into a tank top and boxers.

“Gizmo, I’m gonna pass the fuck out while reading these books. Get off the couch.” He slid his feet underneath the cat, jiggling him until he got up and left. What an asshole. He grabs one of the books and begins to skim. Nothing seems relevant, as far as Sal could tell anyway, and it’s kind of boring. Despite this, he still feels goosebumps form on his arms. He’s afraid that he’ll read something that will scare him. Sal wouldn’t be involved in all this supernatural stuff if he didn’t feel like he had to be.

He eventually gives up and turns on the television. A late night talk show plays, but he doesn’t pay attention. “Ugh, I deal with literal demons and I can’t even ask someone out!? What’s wrong with me? Now Travis rears his head and I _know_ he likes me. He’s fuckin’ cute, too, goddammit. Sweet. He’s sweet. That’s what he is: a sweetheart. I hope he and Larry don’t butt heads while we’re out at the carnival. He and I could’ve gone there together, just the two of us, so I guess we can break off from the group if that happens.”

‘ _I wonder if he’s thinking about me right now.’_

Sal stretches out and adjusts himself so he can sleep. His heart thuds against his ribs, his mind flitting between images of Larry and Travis. He sighs.

“ _Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream..._ ”

Larry is painting in his room. He can see Sally’s little face, crying at him.

“ _Make him the cutest that I’ve ever seen..._ ”

He wants to hold him. _‘You made him cry. You made him cry,’_ he tells himself over and over again.

“ _Give him two lips like roses and clover..._ ”

He wants to pepper his face with kisses, tell him he’s sorry.

“ _Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over..._ ”

 

 

Sal has a dream that night.

He is confronted by two men. No discernible features, but he knows them, people he may love. One runs a hand underneath his chin, sending chills up his spine. The other stands behind him, places a hand on his head.

_You will submit._

He does. He sits on his knees, head lowered. He feels hands along his back and a pressure on his stomach. His mouth is invaded, and he feels as if stitches have been opened up on his belly and stuffing is being ripped out. He is but a plush doll.

His purpose is to be used.

Sal wakes up in a cold sweat. His body tingles. He still feels hands along his body, invisible, just beyond his reach.

He rubs himself through his boxers, wishing the dream had lasted longer.

 

 

Sal is woken up by his alarm in the morning. He throws on a plain wine red dress and ties his hair into a ponytail. He doesn’t have leftovers for lunch so he grabs $10. He piles his library books onto his dresser. One of them sticks out to him, a leather-bound journal with a pentacle on the front. He doesn’t remember taking it out, but he shrugs and chalks it up to bad memory.

Sal leaves for school without Larry, reluctantly. At school, he sees Ash and Travis talking at her locker, making Sal smile to himself. He quietly approaches and opens his locker, greets his friends when they say “hi,” but lets them continue their conversation. They were talking about weekend plans.

Sal stops listening when he sees the journal in his bag. Didn’t he leave that on his dresser? He tosses it into his locker, choosing not to think about it.

“If you want, you can eat with us at lunch.”

“Uh, sure? If that’s okay with everyone.”

“You worry about that too much.”

“I have a good reason for that.”

“Look, Travis,” Sal butted in, “we all do things we aren’t proud of, but have you ever heard of ‘forgive and forget’? None of us are bothered by you anymore, alright?”

The bell rings, forcing them to abandon the conversation.

Sally has paper thrown at him during class, hateful things written on them.

He couldn’t wait until lunch.

All seven friends sit together. Travis sat on one corner with Sal next to him while Larry sat on the opposite corner across from them, trying to be as far away from Travis as possible. They all go about like normal, messing around and joking with each other, excluding Larry. He just eats and keeps to himself.

Eventually, Sally’s hand ends up touching Travis’ underneath the table, and Travis freezes, flushing. Everyone notices.

Sal laughs at him. An ugly, wheezy laugh, but it’s beautiful to him. It gives him courage. “Sal, I want to take you out on a date.” Larry clenches his jaw.

“Sure, but wait until _after_ the carnival.”

Travis smiles, absolutely beaming. “Okay, we’ll talk after the weekend.” He puts an arm around Sal’s waist and the smaller boy rests his head on his shoulder. Sal uses this opportunity to steal some food from Travis; he hadn’t eaten since the day before. Travis doesn’t mind.

Larry bristles on the inside. The normal conversation continues.

A girl from one of his classes approaches him, and quietly asks if he has a pad or tampon. Sal got into the habit of bringing feminine products since he got mistaken for a girl regardless of how he presented himself. Better to bring tampons than tell someone who’s desperately trying to not bleed all over themselves “sorry, I’m a guy.” Sal doesn’t even believe that being a guy was an excuse to not bring this stuff. Emergencies happen.

It’s hard for Sal not to scream when he sees the journal in his bag again. He swore he put it in his locker earlier. Is he going crazy? He pushes that to the back of his mind, discretely handing his classmate what she needed and ending their interaction.

It isn’t long before Sal gets up with an “excuse me.” He felt sick. He quickly made his way over to the restrooms. _‘_ _I’m nuts! How can a_ _ **book**_ _be following me?’_

Before reaching the men’s room, someone grabs him and slams him up against the wall. It was that boy who had been harassing Sal since the school year started. “What do you want?”

“I don’t like losing a prize.”

“What the hell are you going on about?” He has Sal by the neck, although he isn’t being choked. Sal is pulled away from the wall only to be slammed into it again.

“I thought you was a girl. I don’t like being tricked.”

“I never claimed I was. You’d have a girlfriend already if you weren’t such a disgusting person.” He gets a swift punch to the gut. If he wasn’t going to throw up before, he was now.

What happens next is a blur. He sees Travis pull the man off of him, and Ash is telling him off. Before long, Maple pulls him into the girl’s restroom. He can barely stand, his legs felt like jelly. Maple’s trying to get him to focus on breathing, splash some water on his face. He looks at her and he doesn’t really see her, can’t discern her features. She sounds distant.

Maple coaxes him into sitting on the floor. He feels the room shake and spin around him. He doesn’t feel like he’s actually there, experiencing what was happening. He was merely watching.

His world slowly comes back into focus, like a filter being taken off a movie. He starts to hear the words of the song Maple is singing to him, listen to her voice again, and he feels her fingers gently graze up and down his arm.

“I don’t want you getting involved.” He tries to meet his friend’s eyes, but finds that he isn’t quite able to focus on them.

“Is that what you’re afraid of?” She asks in a hushed voice, soothing, trying to bring him back from his terrified little mind.

“Yes. I don’t want you getting hurt.” He sways a little, and Maple pulls him in, resting his head on her chest.

“We don’t want you getting hurt either.” Sal tries to protest but Maple simply shushes him. “We all love you so, so much, Sal. We just want to keep you safe.”

After a few more minutes, Maple forces Sal to splash some water on his face and she takes him back out of the restroom. Ash doesn’t hesitate to attack him with a hug.

“What happened?” Travis walks over and places a hand on Sal’s head, reassuring him.

“That asshole’s pissed because he thought I was a girl. He’s just a womanizing piece of shit. Who the hell even is he?”

Travis twists up his face, thinking. “I think his name is Ethan or something. I don’t have any classes with him and I don’t think I ever have. I have had class with some of his friends though.”

“His friends like to torment me, too.” Sal readjusts his head over Ash’s shoulder. “I have never seen Maple so mad in my life. They were throwing shit at me in class and I’ve never felt like someone could curse another person with a glare until today.”

He feels a hand on his back, giving a gentle push. “We should get back before us girls get in trouble.” Maple gives a twangy cadence to her voice.

Travis points a finger to himself. “What about me?”

Maple throws her hand at him. “Us girls.” He can’t help but laugh, snorting. _‘At least he knows it’s all in good fun.’_

They return to the cafeteria, Sal and Ash awkwardly waddling there as Ash refused to let go of him. They decided not to relay what happened to the others.

When the school day is over, Travis walks Sally home, holding hands. Larry doesn’t speak to Sally again until they meet up at the carnival.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the very kind comments I've been getting. I live for this.  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Confidante

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash has always been a little nosy, and she's just the person Sal needs.

Sal is rudely awoken Saturday morning by loud banging on his apartment door. He scrambles out of bed and nearly smashes his face into the front door as he opens it. “Goddammit, Ash, you gave me a heart attack.”

“I knocked _normally_ but you didn’t answer. What else was I supposed to do?”

Sal shook his head, rubbing sleep out of his eye. “Whatever, Ash. Why are you here so early?”

“It’s noon.”

“Fine. Why did you come here to wake me up?” He yawned and stretched, then gestured Ash to the sofa before turning to go back to his bedroom.

“Well...” Ash closes the door with her back, a sly grin splaying her face. “I came to make you look exquisite for tonight. And also figure out what the hell’s been up with you.”

“The boy troubles or the whole ‘I think I’m crazy’ thing? Don’t come into my room; I’m putting in my eye.”

“Wait hold on, you think you’re crazy? What’s going on?” Ash flops herself across the sofa, dropping her bag beside it. “I mean, you’ve been running off on your own a lot these last few days. Does that have anything to do with what you’re talking about?”

“Ash, please don’t make fun of me, but, I swear to God, a _book’s_ been following me.”

Her face twisted up in confusion. “Sal, you’re going to have to elaborate for me to understand.”

Sal came out of his room, eye in its socket and a hairbrush in his hand, and sits on the arm of the sofa. “Okay, so you know how we went to the library to find books on witchcraft, right? I wake up the next morning and while I’m cleaning up I see this journal I don’t remember getting. I put it on my dresser and go to school. At school, the book’s in my bag. I put it in my locker, and later it’s back in my bag. Put it in my locker again and when I get home it’s on my _dresser!_ Like, what the hell!?”

Ash considered what Sal said, carefully forming her response. “I don’t think you’re crazy, but I also don’t think this is something of great concern. We deal with ghosts all the time and they’re not malicious. I’m not shaming you for being unsettled, I just think you’re riding that wave too much.”

Sal stared out at the television, expression unreadable. “I don’t know. I feel _nauseous_ whenever I see it. It might also be causing me bad luck, but that’s hard to test.”

“Have you looked in it?”

“What? No! Why would I--”

“Go get it.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Sal. Go get the book.”

Sal glared at her before relinquishing and leaving to go into his bedroom. Ash only has time to readjust herself into a sitting position before he’s back, hastily shoving it into her hands. He shifts from one foot to the other, wringing his hands together.

Ash carefully reads the first few pages before skimming and flipping through the rest of the book. She looks up at him, eyebrows furrowed. “It’s _just_ a witch’s journal. Herb properties, potion recipes, holiday stuff, spells… Nothing worrying or anything. Just a run of the mill journal.”

Sal sways. That wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. “But then, why is it...”

“Following you? Maybe for the same reason _you_ were the one who ‘discovered’ the ghosts here. Supernatural stuff doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, Sally.” She closes the book and hands it back to him, thinking. “There’s a store on the other side of Nockfell that sells stuff for witches and psychics and the like. I’ll ask Maple if she can take us there.”

Sal nods and returns to his room. No more book. He comes back with his hairbrush once again with him and perches on the arm of the sofa, going back to what he was doing. He begins brushing his hair absently. “That sounds fine.”

“Okay! Now let’s talk boys.” Ash scooted herself closer to Sal, who gave her a pained look. “So, Traaaavis...”

“He’s nice.” He kept brushing his hair. He didn’t really want to talk about his boy troubles. It was too personal, and too easy to start problems with misinformation.

“’He’s nice’? That’s it?” She tilted her head, incredulous. “He’s perfect for you!”

“Maybe. But I have a crush on someone else and I haven’t gotten over him yet.”

“Did you ask _that_ guy out at least?”

“No!”

“Goddammit, Sal, why not?”

“Because I’m ninety-five percent sure he’s straight.”

Ash pinched the bridge of her nose. “So you _think_ he’s straight. I’m going to point out to you that we, your close friends, _thought_ you were straight and clearly you’re bisexual. Belief and reality are not the same thing; it wouldn’t hurt to ask him out.”

“ _I_ used to think I was straight. And yes, it _would_ hurt to ask him out.”

“Are you sure? Unless it’s one of us out of our friend group--” Ash gasped, then looked around the room like she found out a big secret. Sal started having a mini anxiety attack, his palms getting sweaty. Ash leaned in. “Is it Chug?”

“Chug and Maple are _soul mates_ and I would _never_ come between them, you monster.” Relief washed over him. Ash was just making a joke.

“Seriously. Who’s your crush?” Fuck.

Sal leaned in towards Ashley, and held her eyes with his own. He spoke low, keeping his volume down. “You have to promise me that you will not utter a single _word_ about this to _anyone_. You have to _promise_ me that you won’t.”

Ash was taken aback. “This is… Really eating you up, Sal. I promise this is just between you and me, no matter what.”

He inhaled, his breath hitching, and held it. Sal’s face flushed and he wished he was wearing his prosthetic. It was a good way to hide himself away from the world and his problems. Ash patted his leg for comfort. “I like-- I-- I… Fuck. I like Larry.” He whispered out so quietly that Ash had to strain to hear it. Sal felt like he was speaking of something forbidden.

Ashley’s jaw dropped, then her face relaxed, resigned, because it wasn’t _that_ surprising. “Shit, man. I see the problem now.”

“I’d rather suffer and pine after him than ruin our friendship.” Ash just nodded along, chewing the inside of her lip. Sal turned away from her and stared at the wall. “I think our friendship will be ruined one way or the other… He hates Travis so, so much, more than he likes me I feel--”

“Sal that’s bullshit and you know it.”

“He’s been giving me the silent treatment.”

Ash took his hand in hers, squeezing it. “I think he’s just trying to work himself out.”

Sal sighed and ran his fingers though his hair. “What do I do, Ash?”

“Talk to Larry, Sal. You don’t have to confess-- this is a sticky situation-- but you should find out where you two currently stand before doing anything else. And here’s what _I’ll_ do: I’ll play matchmaker--”

“Ash--”

“No, shh, hear me out. I’ll play matchmaker behind the scenes. Gauge his reactions to the stuff you do. Thinking about what he does with you in the new light of ‘does he like you’ might open up a whole new world.”

“Sure. But I don’t think you’ll find anything.” Sal shrugged his shoulders. Let Ash do her. You can’t intervene.

“Great! Now, to do what I came here to do. I’m giving you a makeover. Also, I bought a dress for you--”

“Ash, don’t buy me clothes, I have plenty--”

“Shh, shh, I saw it, and thought it would look gorgeous on you. You also have really beautiful heels that’ll go with it.” Ash pulls said dress out of her bag. It’s a white A-line halter dress with lace details. Sal’s face lights up and it makes Ash feel so proud of herself. “Go put it on.”

He gingerly takes it from her and disappears into his room. He comes out a few minutes later wearing it. “Sal, if you were a girl, I’d be gay for you.”

Sal bursts out laughing. “Thanks, Ash.”

“For the kind of insensitive gay jokes? You’re fucking welcome.”

“I mean, thanks for everything.” He looked down at the floor, sheepish. “I don’t know where I’d be if it weren’t for you.”

“Take it as a lesson to share your feelings with other people more. Now come here and let me do your hair.” Sal sits down on the couch and she begins to brush his hair up into a ponytail. “You have the tendency to spiral into believing that the worse case scenario _will_ happen.”

“Normally it does, Ash.” Having his hair done felt nice. _‘Today’s been a good day so far.’_

“Regardless, be more open and optimistic. It’ll be healthier for _you_.” Ash starts to braid his hair into a lace bun. His hair is slick and soft. She wishes her hair was as nice as his.

“Easier said than done, Ash.”

“You won’t get anywhere with that attitude.”

The two of them sat together in silence while Ash finished braiding his hair. When she was done, she guided Sal into the bathroom so he could look at himself in the mirror.

“Huh. I might actually be attractive.” He checks himself out for a few seconds before grimacing. “If I had a different face, maybe.”

Ash put her arm around his shoulders and gave him a half hug.

“Be kinder to yourself, Sal.”


	5. Night out on the Town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal likes getting attention. He likes having all eyes on him. But there's one set of eyes he's particularly fond of.

Sal and Ash walked to the carnival together. Everyone had agreed that they would meetup together there, and Ash went behind Sal’s back and told the rest of them what she planned on doing for him. Kill him with kindness.

Sal was feeling really good about himself, but as they got closer to the carnival he felt something boil in his gut. Anger, frustration, longing. He wasn’t sure how long he could continue to hold in how distraught he was over Larry ignoring him, avoiding him. He was deeply hurt by the whole situation.

He feels a tap against his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Sal. You look great.” Ash gives him a wink and a thumbs up.

“That’s not what I’m thinking about. This whole ‘Larry not talking to me’ thing really hurts.”

“Hey, Sal, look.” The two were almost at the entrance to the carnival, and Ash was pointing to where their friends were waiting. What Sal eventually saw was Larry… And Travis. Talking. Having an actual conversation. “Good sign, no?”

“Holy shit. Very good sign.” His heart thud hard in his chest. It overjoyed him to no end seeing Travis and Larry getting along even just a little bit. Something else churned in his gut, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to chase that particular feeling.

Todd interrupted Larry and Travis’ conversation and pointed to Sally and Ash as they approached. Both men’s jaws dropped, Travis covering his mouth with his hand. Sal gave them a wink and a twirl. _‘Play the part, Sal.’_ Travis turned away and closed his eyes. “I’m a good Christian; I will wait.” He said that a lot louder than intended, and everyone burst out laughing.

“Aw, Trav, you wanna fuck me?” Sal purred the words out, as sultry and sexy as he could manage. His eyes flicked to Larry, whose face was unreadable. Getting attention from two handsome guys he liked gave him unbridled confidence, heat swirling in his stomach and chest pleasantly. Something pricked at the back of his mind; he wanted Larry to _notice_ him.

Neil waltzed his way up to Travis and hooked his arm across his shoulders. “There’s a bush over there if you want me and Todd to keep an eye out.” Everybody shared a laugh at that, Travis’ face turning beet red, completely and totally flustered and embarrassed. Ash watched Larry, and saw his face twitch briefly. Something bothered him, but he was trying to stifle it.

Among all the laughter, Sal sauntered closer to Travis, his hips swaying in what he hoped was seductive, just about pressing his body up against him. “I won’t have sex out in public, but if you play your cards right...” The way Sal held Travis’ eyes sent electricity surging through his body, to parts of him that he didn’t want to think about. Sal ran his fingers up his chest, along his neck and jaw, before turning and striding away. He wanted to look back and see Larry’s face. He wanted to chase this feeling he couldn’t name, but made him feel so good, so powerful.

Everyone was speechless. Todd’s eyes dashed to each person’s face. “Can-- can we all agree that that was remarkably attractive?” His face was dusted a light rosy color, as was his friends’. They all nodded. Ash noticed the same slight twitch on Larry’s face. Curious.

After a moment, Chug spoke up; “can we follow Sally and go get food?”

“Man, you’ve got a one track mind.” Ashley leaned over and patted his shoulder before dashing off to catch up with their little blue-haired bud. “Food sound good?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m starved.” He nodded towards the others as they caught up as well. “Food’s on me! No one argue with me over paying.”

“I will never complain about free food.”

“Is that why you’re dating Maple?” Sal nudged Chug with his elbow, giving him a good chuckle.

“Yes.” Behind them they heard a high-pitched titter. Ah, Maple.

 

 

The night was a blur. A wonderful blur.

Whenever he could, Sal got close to Travis. Travis often returned the favor, and invaded his own space. When playing the carnival games, Travis would bend down behind Sal, trace his hands along his arms, and show him how to play. He liked playing the balloon and dart game most of all. The way Travis whispered in his ear, giving him gentle encouragement.

The only other person Sally paid attention to was Larry. How he watched, stared, at the two men while they lived in each other’s space. The looks he gave them, gave Sal, sent shivers up his spine. He could love Travis, but he was going to enjoy torturing his best friend while he got over him.

All eyes were on him, and it made him feel confident, _important_. He was used to people giving so much attention out of scorn. He was used to another person using their touch to hurt him. Now he was being adored by his friends, and potentially lusted after by a cute guy.

He wanted a taste of Travis, wanted to be pinned underneath him. He wanted to be the only thing that existed.

He was intoxicated by it all.

As the night went on, he got more fearless about exploring Travis and his body, each time his eyes locking with Larry’s, and he’d give him a half-lidded look, completely satisfied with himself. Sal would sit in Travis’ lap, and while he rubbed his shoulders or chest, Travis would rest his forehead on Sal’s. He didn’t want to go further himself, but he enjoyed Sal’s presence.

Sal wanted more. He wanted to keep chasing this feeling.

 

 

Sal, Larry, and Travis walked back to Addison Apartments together. Todd went home with Neil and Chug went home with Maple, leaving the three men to walk home together.

Sal was having the time of his life. He was dancing around the sidewalk and sung his little heart out. Travis wanted this cute, tiny, little thing in his life. He wanted to keep going. He watched Sal with interest, noticing the way his thigh muscles contracted and stretched as he jumped around. The way the lights above them shined and reflected off his prosthetic. He was absolutely enamored.

Larry mostly kept to himself. He wanted Sal more than Travis did, but it felt wrong to him. Sally was his _best friend_ , how could he ruin that? Maybe Sal was better off being happy with Travis? He suppressed those thoughts and feelings. Not tonight. Not anymore.

Before entering the apartment building, Sal stopped at its doors. “Traaaavis,” he cooed. “You wanna come up with me? My dad’s not home.”

Travis strode up to Sal and cupped his face in his hands. “I really like you, Sal, but we’re not together yet. We shouldn’t rush.” He brushed his hands down his arms, taking Sal’s hands in his own, and brought them up to his mouth. He gave a gentle kiss to his fingers before letting go. “See you at school?”

“Uh, yeah, sure.” He was taken aback. He felt a mix of relief and disappointment.

They said their goodbyes to each other and Sal followed Larry into the elevator. Larry hit the button for the fourth floor, giving Sally time to confront Larry.

“Why have you been avoiding me?”

Larry was afraid of this. His heart raced and he felt light headed. _‘Confess! Confess!’_ His mind screamed at him again and again. “Uh… Well, I’ve been thinkin’ about what you said.”

A silence hung in the air between them. “And?” Sal pressed on. He wasn’t going to drop this.

“I needed time to get over myself. I hold grudges, I guess. I want you to be happy, dude. And if bein’ happy means bein’ with Travis, then I just have to accept it. I think you’re too good for him, but I don’t think many people exist who’d deserve to date you.”

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Sal stepped out and hummed. “Alright. Who do you think _is_ good enough for me, though? Other than you.” Playful hint.

Larry was left completely flustered. Sal just laughed at him and Larry tried to play it off. Sal forgoes looking for an answer and says goodbye, leaving Larry alone in the elevator with his thoughts. “Other than you” looped in his head over and over again.

‘ _Don’t think that. Don’t think about that, Larry.’_

‘ _You don’t deserve him either.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 kudos! Holy crap guys!  
> Thanks so much for the kind comments, they mean a lot. They really do.  
> Smut will start very soon, huehuehue.  
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Exploration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal needs the touch of another person, but first he needs to have fun with just himself.

Sal had dreams of Travis and Larry all night long. His own brain was torturing him. He wanted them both so badly.

He was left horny. Very horny. His mind kept bringing those images back to him as he tried to go about his day. He eventually gave up and sat on his bedroom floor, thinking to himself. After a few minutes, he decided he’d bike to the sex shop not too far away from his home. He tried going in a few months ago, but he got too flustered and left.

He left his apartment, making sure the door was locked behind him. Sal used his time waiting for the elevator to still his mind. He didn’t know how to prepare himself. Should he ask an employee at the store? They probably get weirder questions than “how do I do butt stuff?” He started to feel a little silly. Maybe he’d just ask Todd what he was supposed to do.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Stepping inside, he presses the button for the second floor. _‘Let’s have a chat with Todd, Sal.’_ He leaned against the wall, formulating what exactly he was going to ask, just so he didn’t look like an idiot. Todd would probably get a good laugh out of him regardless.

He knocked on the door before hearing a “come in.” Male voice. He opens the door to see Neil getting something from the kitchen. “’Sup, Sal.”

“ **Uh hi Neil is Todd here I really need to talk to him.** ” Sal hunched up his shoulders. He was wheezing and huffing.

“You do weird stuff when you get anxious, Sal.” Neil chuckled, shaking his head. “He’s in his room.” Sal hastily nodded and practically ran into Todd’s bedroom.

“I really need help.” He makes sure the door is closed behind him. His voice is low.

Todd turns toward Sal in his chair, his hands folded over his lap. “Yes?”

“So.” Sal’s palms were already sweating. He rubbed them on his pants. “I know that I’m not supposed to just… Like… Jam a dildo up my butt, so what do I do?” Sal heaved out an unsteady breath. _‘Don’t have a panic attack over being horny, please.’_

Todd tries to stifle a titter. “I appreciate you being so forward with me.” He puts his hands up and waves them down to his sides as he speaks. “Let’s have an in depth conversation about safe preparation.” He could see Sal struggling, so before going forward with the conversation, he spends a few minutes getting his friend to focus on his breathing. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, this puts me at ease.”

“Do you worry about me?”

“I do. I worry about you because you dive headfirst into a lot of quite frightening things. You do not know a lot about some things that I feel someone could use as leverage to take advantage of you. I also just enjoy speaking with you.”

“Oh, Todd, that’s really sweet.” Sal placed his hand on his chest, genuinely touched.

“As for your original question, preparation can be pretty simple, or pretty involved.” Todd begins explaining how Sal should prepare himself, a few jokes interspersed to lighten the mood. It gets a little gross, but the body itself is a little gross. Sal leaves the conversation feeling confident in himself; a whole new world had opened up for him.

“If you have any questions, just ask me.” Todd tears off a piece of paper and writes down a list of things that Sal could buy for himself.

“How much would this cost?”

“Uh… Just the basics would probably be around $60, give or take. Buying everything I mentioned, it would probably cost you around $200. I know, it’s a lot. You should get the enema at the very least, but you can forgo the other extras.”

Sal takes the paper from him. “I could probably afford everything, especially now that I’m getting a job.” Todd raises an eyebrow. “You know how I’ve been sending out my resume, right? Well, I have an interview later in the week.”

Todd whistles. “You’re becoming more and more ‘grown up’ lately, Sal. Good for you.”

Sal beams, enjoying Todd’s praise. He really felt like it earned it. Sal says goodbye to his dork of a friend and nods to Neil on the way out. He has a little bounce to his step.

Outside, as he was getting on his bike, Larry approached him from behind. “Hey.”

Sal shrieked. “Larry, don’t sneak up on me!” _‘Also I’m really horny for you please leave.’_

“Sorry. Wha’cha doin’?” Larry jammed his hands into his jean pockets. Damn him for looking so cute.

“I, uh… I’m going to the store. To buy myself some _personal_ stuff.” He fumbled over his words a little, watching Larry’s face scrunch up. After a moment, his face started to flush.

“Oh well… I’ll leave you to do that.” Larry couldn’t meet Sal’s eyes.

“ _Or you could fuck me_ ,” Sal muttered under his breath. He hoped his crush didn’t hear him.

“What?” He tilted his head, still not looking at Sal.

“I didn’t say anything.” _‘Oh god no.’_

“Oh, sorry. Thought you did.” Larry turned on his heels and left, leaving Sally alone. He doubled over his handlebars. _‘That was the best worst thing to happen to me, holy fuck.’_

Eventually, Sal pushed off and started his little journey. Feeling the wind brush past him and being forced to focus on his legs pushing his bike pedals took his mind off of his love life. It was meditative for him. _‘I should bike more often.’_ All his thoughts came rushing back once he arrived at the shop, and he felt like he should just go back home. Fuck it, he’s already here, and his whole conversation with Todd would have been wasted if he backed out now.

He takes a deep breath and enters the store. Once inside, it’s not so bad for him. He walks around the store at a leisurely pace, looking at different products, prices. His mind had created a more titillating image for him, but it actually turned out to be quite boring, ultimately making it a far better experience for him. When Sal was satisfied with the products he chose, he went up to the counter and bought them.

Back outside, Sal gets onto his bike and pushes off towards home. _‘Huh. I don’t know what I was so afraid of? Maybe it was my ignorance. Or maybe I’m just afraid of homophobic repercussion. Shit. There really isn’t anything in place to prevent discrimination.’_ He shakes his head. He doesn’t want to think about that. Not yet.

At the apartments, Sal leaves his bike behind the building, up against the tree house. People don’t normally come around the back, so he isn’t worried about it being stolen. There isn’t anywhere else to put it anyway.

“Hey.”

Sal nearly jumps out of his skin. He whips around to see Larry. “Dammit, Larry. What did I _just_ tell you about sneaking up behind me?”

“Uh, to not… To...” Larry’s eyes travel down to see the little plastic bag Sal has with him. He looks away, his cheeks turning a ruddy color. “So. What-- What’s that for?”

Sal shivers and his mind falls in on itself. He wants Larry to know, wants him to think about what he’s doing. His voice catches in his throat. He needs this, but it’s hard to think straight. “I have the insatiable need to cram a cock up my ass.” Sal dashes past the taller man, not catching the look he’s given. He has to get back to his room. He must take care of his body, his _problem_.

 

 

Sal places a folded towel on his bed. Clean and ready, he lays back and grabs his lube. Carefully coating his fingers, he presses the tip of his index against his entrance. He takes a deep breath in an attempt to relax himself. He’s glad he decided to do this by himself instead of relying on someone else to stretch him.

He coaxes his finger inside. It feels a little strange but not outright unpleasant. He glides the fingers of his free hand up along his belly to his chest. The light tickle makes him sigh. He shifts his finger inside of him, moving back and forth. Feels okay. He brings his middle finger against him and pushes it inside as well. He sucks in air with a sharp whistle. That was a little much, but he simply rests and lets himself adjust.

He imagines Larry and Travis next to him. He wants them to pepper his body and neck with kisses, wants their hands all over him. He wants them to pull his hair and suck him off. Sal grabs his dick and starts stroking himself at a lazy pace. He curls his fingers and oh that felt so good. He arches his back and groans.

He pushes his ring finger inside of him. He thrusts his hand in and out, brushing against that spot every time. It feels oh so fantastic. He feels a tingle rise in his body, and he forces himself to stop. _‘I won’t cum yet.’_ He gently pulls his fingers out and cleans them with a tissue. He feels around his nightstand for the box of condoms he left there. Once it’s in his hand, he pulls out a condom, tears open the package, and slips it onto his toy.

Covering his dildo with a generous amount of lube, he carefully presses it into him. “Fuck, this is way better than my fingers.” He squeaks and moans. It feels like his dick it being stroked from the inside. He wants to be full. He thrusts the toy, brushing his hand along his body. Now he wishes he was with someone else.

He wraps his hand around his member and strokes. He huffs and he can feel his leg muscles twitch. He squeezes himself and it makes him whine, it feels so good. He picks up the pace, chasing his orgasm. Sal’s brain starts to fry and he is no longer able to form thoughts. It’s too much and it’s great.

He seizes up and meets his orgasm. He can barely keep himself from shouting. “Wow… That was _way_ better than I was expecting. I wish I had someone-- oh ew.” He tried to rest his hand on his stomach but was met with a handful of cum instead. He hastily grabs his tissues and starts cleaning himself off. Once done, he takes a short shower. He feels relaxed, good, but he wishes he had someone with him. Good, but lonely. When he’s back in his room, he grabs his walkie talkie. “Larry face?”

He lays on his bed, waiting for the familiar crackle to sound back to him. “Sally face?” _‘Larry sounds tired. I guess it is a little late now.’_

“I love you.”

“Oh. I… Uh, I love you, too, bud. What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Sal picks at his fingernails absently. “I just don’t think I say it enough.”

“Alright. Wha’cha up ta?”

“Well, the thing I said before.” There’s a long pause. Oops.

“Sal, did ya just jerk it n’ then immediately call me?”

Sal bursts out laughing. “Well, I showered first. But yes.”

“ **Sal!** ” There’s another long pause. “So you jack off and then tell me you love me? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

‘ _Oh fuck, this was a terrible idea.’_ Sal’s heart begins to race. “Uh, no. You know how my brain doesn’t really work.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Did Larry buy that? Shit. “Goodnight.”

“Yeah, yeah. Goodnight.”

‘ _I’m so screwed.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ho boy, this was fun to write. Poor Sal.  
> Thanks for reading! I really appreciate you guys.


	7. I Just Want Him to Be Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Larry have a heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Edit:** Hey guys, I'm going to be taking a short break for the holidays. I'll probably update on or around the 27th.  
> Happy Holidays!

The next day was an awkward one. In the morning, Sal left for school early so he didn’t have to see Larry. The walk to school was, however, very pleasant for him. It allowed Sal to focus on his thoughts and enjoy the present moment: the singing birds-- chickadees he thought; the soft but brisk breeze; the smell of pine. He thought about what he’d say to his friend, wondered if he would even bring up the night before at all. Would it matter if Larry did? _‘Not really,’_ he told himself. _‘This really isn’t all that important. Or maybe it is. Maybe I should ask Ash what she thinks.’_

Being early at school meant that there weren’t many students around, making navigating the hallways a lot easier than normal. He should come here at this hour more often. No one was around to say anything stupid to him. No one was around to “accidentally” (or genuinely accidentally) squish him up against a wall or a locker. The quiet let him plan for the day ahead of him. It was nice.

Or so he thought.

While he was going though his locker, he felt a hand on his back. Before he could do anything, he was pushed into his locker and the door was slammed onto his hip. He yelped, a mix of surprise and pain. That was definitely going to bruise. The person continued to hold him down and he felt them bend over him. “ _Whore_.” It was the voice of that prick who kept harassing him. _Again and again. Again and again. Again and again._ Animosity pooled in his stomach.

He was let go, and he uncomfortably slid to the floor, listening to him and his friends snicker at him as they left. Sal shook where he stood. He was going to snap if this kept up.

He inhaled. _‘Let it go, Sal. It’s not worth it.’_

It was going to be a long day.

 

 

“Will you take me and Sal to the witch store?” The group was sat at their usual lunch table. Ash was prodding some of Maple’s salad while she asked her. _‘This is how_ _you get a “no,” Ash.’_

“Daydream Corner? Sure. Why?” Maple swatted her hand away. No sharing today.

“Personal project. I’ll show you later.” Sal could feel Travis wrap an arm around his waist as he answered. He was probably uncomfortable with the idea that his potential date was playing around with witchcraft. “How does Sunday sound?”

“I’m free all week except for today.” Ash stabbed her fork into Maple’s food anyway. “Oh yeah, I’m walking home with you, Sal. Larry and I are painting together today.”

“Sunday’s fine for me as well.” Maple retaliated by taking some of Ash’s baby carrots. An eye for an eye.

“What other days are you busy, Sal?” Travis pressed a kiss to his temple.

“Wednesday I have a job interview--” Chatter rose up at the table; everyone except Todd was surprised. “Yeah, yeah, it’s an achievement, I know. And my dad’s back today, so he’ll probably do something with me during the week. But we can plan that around what I’m doing.”

“Where are you going to be working?”

“The corner store just down the road from the apartments.”

“Can I use your employee discount?”

“Chug, I’m not getting fired because food is one of the two things you have the capacity to care about. Also that’s not a thing.”

“You disappoint Chug.” The group shared a laugh together.

“Back to my inquiry,” Travis began, “I’d like to take you out on that date. How is Saturday for you?”

Sal blushed under his prosthetic. “Oh, uh, Saturday’s great! There’s a cute little cafe I’ve been dying to go to, if that’s alright.” Travis nodded his affirmation. Excitement bubbled up in Sal’s belly. Maybe he’s starting to get over Larry, finally.

Larry’s chest tightened. Why did they have to be lovey-dovey in front of him? He forced a smile when Sal and Travis looked at him. _‘Be happy for them, you asshole.’_

 

 

The walk to the apartments was uncomfortable. Sal and Larry didn’t look at or talk to each other, and it made it difficult for Ash to say anything to either of them. She gave up and walked in silence as well. Sal broke off from them without so much as a goodbye.

Ash follows Larry around the back of the building, entering directly to the basement. In his room, they begin setting up their easels, paints, and brushes. Ash churns her mind over. She promised Sal that she wouldn’t say anything about his crush on Larry to anyone, but the more she watched Larry, the more she wondered if he shared the same fondness. Could she find out how Larry felt without ruining Sal’s trust? Could she tell Sal if she found out? Why did she get herself involved in the first place.

They paint in silence, both lost in thought. Ashley eventually breaks the silence: “so, Larry, how do you feel about Sal dating Travis?” She prays this conversation will turn out for the best.

“If Travis makes Sal happy, then that’s all that matters.” Huh. Okay.

“That’s great, Larry, but how does that make _you_ feel?” She feels like she’s pushing for something that she really shouldn’t be.

He puts his brush down with a sigh. “You won’t tell him, will you?”

“Of course not. This is between you and me.” Shit.

Larry takes a deep breath. “I hate it. I like Sal, and he is way too good for Travis. And for me.” He adds that last part as quietly as he can. It’s hard for him to admit.

“You don’t think you _deserve_ Sal?”

“No. No, I don’t. I’ve got this insane need to protect him n’ I go overboard. He got after me for it already. If I’m like this when I’m not datin’ him, how much worse would I be if I was?”

This is worse than a simple “I’m afraid of ruining my friendship.” Should she break her promise? Should she tell Larry that Sal likes him? Tell Sal that Larry likes him? “What if Sal likes you back?”

“Does it matter? That doesn’t change how _I_ am. Besides, he has Travis now. It’s too late.”

“It’s not too late!” Oh god, what was she doing? “Travis and Sal aren’t official. You could probably--”

“Steal Sal away from Travis? Is that fair to _Travis_? He’s a factor in this, too.”

Shit. She didn’t think about Travis’ feelings at all. Fuck. “You don’t have to steal him away from him. Just show Sal that you’re an option; let him choose for himself.” Ash was trying to concoct a plan without giving anything away.

“I want Sal to be happy. I don’t think I can make him happy this way.”

Larry shut down the conversation, leaving Ash to her own devices. This was worse than she thought. Way worse. What does she do?

 

 

“Dad!”

“Hey, kiddo!” Henry swung Sal around when he ran into the apartment. “What’s your week been like?”

“Oh, man, a lot’s happened.” Sal hopped onto the couch. He missed having his dad around. Then something dropped into the pit of his stomach. _‘Oh no, I have to come out to him.’_ “Dad, could you sit down, I have something important to tell you.”

Henry looked at him with a raised eyebrow, puzzled. He complies, sitting on the other end of the couch. Sal takes in a deep breath.

“I’m bisexual.” Fuck.

A beat. “Okay.” Henry makes a gesture with his hands. It wasn’t a big deal to him.

“’Okay’? That’s it?” Sal is incredulous.

Henry simply shrugs his shoulders. “Sal, you’re my son and I love you. I want you to be happy, and whomsoever is your partner, man or woman, I will welcome them into my family with open arms.”

Relief washed over Sal, and he was touched, genuinely touched. “That’s great! Now, this is relevant because I have a date with a guy this Saturday.”

“Oh, my sweet, little boy is all grown up now.” Henry touched the back of his hand to his forehead, pretending to swoon.

“I also have a job interview Wednesday.” Sal placed his hands on his hips, acting like a proud little shit.

“All of the important things happen while I’m gone. I’ll come back from my next business trip and you’ll have bought a house and moved out.”

The two men shared a hearty laugh together. The rest of the evening was great. They made dinner together and joked around while watching TV. They made plans to spend time together after school and work on Friday.

Sal was so, so glad his father was back home.

He’d completely fall apart if he ever lost him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will ruin everything for everyone eventually, enjoy the niceness.  
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Reconnecting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal is excited to finally get some time to spend with his father.  
> He was far too absent from his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! Yule was great, and I really needed a break, but I'm really glad to be back.  
> Thanks for reading.

The loud beeping of Sal’s alarm woke him up Friday morning. It didn’t take long before he jumped out of bed and speedily got dressed. He and his father were going to hang out after school; he wanted to get his day over with as quickly as possible. Henry had been away on his business trip for over a week, and Sal had to wait even more for them to be able to do anything together. He was overwhelmed with excitement.

Dressed and ready, his prosthetic resting on the top of his head, he leaves his room. The smell of bacon and eggs fills the room outside. Perfect.

“Morning, Sal,” Henry calls from the kitchen. He didn’t make food that often, as Sal was a far better cook than he, but it was fun to do it himself every once in a while. He also considered it something nice to do for Sal, since he tirelessly worked himself to the bone in order to keep the house together while Henry slaved away at his job, which Henry very much appreciated.

“Good morning!” Sal bounced his way to the dining table and plopped himself down into a chair.

“You’re awfully chipper, Mr. ‘I’m not a morning person, please leave me alone.’”

“You know full well that I’m excited to finally spend time with you.” He stuck his tongue out at his father in a playful manner. Henry walked over to him with his food, poking his nose as he placed Sal’s plate in front of him, making him squawk. Beautiful.

“I know. I am, too.” Henry sat across from Sal with his own food. “I wish we had more time together.”

“Me too, dad.” Sal didn’t hesitate to scarf down two slices of bacon at once. His dad always joked that he inhaled his food rather than ate it. So much so that Lisa and Larry joined in on it as well. You learned to eat fast when you wanted to hide your face. “Where are we going?”

Henry considered for a moment. “It’s a surprise.”

“Aw, c’mon, dad! Don’t leave me hanging!” Sal pouted at him. No fair.

“Like I’m the only one keeping secrets.” He gave Sal a grin before take a bite of his own food.

“What, oh what, am I keeping from you, father dearest?”

“Well… You haven’t told me who your boyfriend is.”

Sal’s face shot into a deep ruddy wine color. “He’s _not_ my boyfriend!” He started stuffing his face with his egg sandwich so he didn’t have to speak any more.

“Sure, but you still haven’t told me your date’s name.” Henry was enjoying torturing his son. “Ah, young love. To experience it again.”

“His name is Travis. Travis Phelps.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. The name was somewhat familiar. “Wait, you don’t mean ‘Phelps’ as in the ‘Phelps Ministry’?” Sal solemnly nodded his head. “Wow. He must have it hard at home then.”

“You have no idea.”

“Hmm. Tell him that he’s welcome to escape here if he needs to.”

“Way ahead of you, dad. I already did.” Sal gave him a short smile before finishing off the rest of his food and then getting up out of his seat. “I’m gonna brush my teeth and head out before I’m late.”

“Sure, sure. I’ll pick you up after school, so wait out front for me, okay?”

“Okay!” Sal waved off at him as he left for the bathroom. Today was going to be a good day.

 

 

Autumn had begun to settle in over Nockfell. This was Sal’s favorite time of year: October. He loved to watch the leaves change color, the cool but not too cold breeze, and upcoming Halloween. The decorations were fun. Of course he liked the scary aesthetic; he was a punk kid after all. An atypical punk kid, but one nonetheless. He was looking forward to all the candy as well. Not so much the chastising from his dad and Lisa for making himself sick. Maybe he’d help put up decorations in the foyer, he thought to himself, watching students doing just that on the outside of the school building. He probably looked weird or creepy, but people watching was all he had to do while he waited to be picked up.

Sal absentmindedly touched his neck, a new bruise blossoming. That Ethan prick was going too far, but he still couldn’t bring himself to report him. He was unsure if that would make the situation worse, if anything would even _be_ done in the first place. He was too small to properly defend himself, although that didn’t stop him from running his mouth when he shouldn’t.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turns and sees Travis. His expression is soft, but he can still see worry lines crease his forehead. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m-- I...” He hesitates, then slowly shakes his head. “No, not really. But I don’t want to talk about this here.” Sal gestures to the other students outside with his hand. “I’m also worried that you-know-who might be around the corner somewhere.”

A deep frown forms on Travis’ face. He looks up from Sal, then waves. Sal turns to see what it is: his father pulling up in his car. He sees his father wave. “We’ll talk later.” Travis presses a kiss to the cheek of Sal’s mask before he begins to walk off, giving a short greeting to Henry as he gets out of the car.

“Was that Travis?” Henry has a smirk plastered on his mouth.

“Yeah.” Sal gingerly touches where he was kissed, lightheaded. He quickly claps back to reality. “So, where are we going?”

Henry’s grin gets bigger. “Well,” he holds out his car keys, “wherever you want to go, bud.”

Sal’s eyes went wide. “Wuh? Dad, I can’t--”

“Sure you can! You have your license.” Henry took Sal’s hand and placed the keys in it.

“Ugh, don’t remind me of the one photo I _despise_.” Sal had to take his prosthetic off while they took the photograph for his ID. While he understood why he had to, it didn’t make it any more pleasant for him. He refused to show people his ID for that very reason. “Still, it’s not like I drive much.”

“Oh you’ll be fine.” Henry waved him off and he turned to head back to the car. Sal gave up and left for the car as well. No point in fighting with his father over who drove. They were supposed to be having fun, bonding. He opens the door, siting in the driver’s seat, and pulls on his seat belt. He depressed the clutch with his left foot as he did the same with the brake pedal using his right foot. Deep breath. He turns the key in the ignition and shifts into first gear. Sal releases the parking brake as well as the brake pedal and revs the engine. He slowly releases the clutch and the car begins to roll forward. Driving was too involved for Sal’s liking.

“I don’t know where I’m gonna be going.” Sal has his head tilted slightly to the right, compensating for his eye being missing.

Henry shrugs, although Sal doesn’t see it. “You can just drive around senselessly. I’m not particularly picky since we’re still spending time together.”

‘ _Is **this** your idea of spending time together?’_ “Alright.” As aggravating as it was, Sal didn’t want to fight. _Not today_. He pulls away from the school and begins to drive away from the town.

“What’s with the bruise?”

“Ah fuck...” _‘Seriously? Now?’_ “There’s this asshole who’s been bullying me because he thought I was a girl. Like I’d date him if I was. It started with him calling me a trap, and now he’s escalated to physically attacking me.”

“I’m sorry, I’m an old man. What does he mean by ‘trap?’”

“It’s a slur that basically just means that trans women or gender nonconforming men are pretending to be women in order to trick men into having sex with them.”

Henry shifted in his seat. “Why haven’t you said anything?”

Sal swallowed, uncomfortable with the conversation. “I don’t know. I’m scared. Of repercussions. I feel like I’d get in trouble if I said anything because I’m ‘the boy who wears dresses,’ so I’d probably be told it was my fault or something. Or nothing would be done and he’d find out. Keeping my mouth shut has normally turned out better than me opening it, y’know?”

Henry reaches over and lays his hand on Sal’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I can’t do anything for you, bud.”

Sal sighs and lightly shakes his head. “It’s okay, dad. This is a difficult situation for anyone who wants to help me.”

Cityscape peeled away for unpaved roads and boundless trees. Silence fell between the two men and all that could be heard was the purr of the engine. A whirl of green went by as Sal continued to drive. Henry occasionally made small talk but mostly left Sal alone. He had a hard time driving if he wasn’t able to concentrate enough, and he didn’t need to lose control.

After about an hour of driving, Sal pulled into an empty gravel area. A few old benches and tables sat alone, long since abandoned. The cabin beside had caved in on itself. There had been a fire a few years back and it had never gotten repaired. No one cared enough. Not far from them was an area that was once a small beach, but over time it slowly became more like a marsh. The setting sun cast shadows across the area and the water reflected shades of red and purple off the trees. It was beautiful yet solemn and lonely.

Sal got out of the car, the door slamming shut behind him. He reached the tables before Henry had left the sedan and joined him.

“How do you know about this place, Sal? It’s gorgeous.” Henry was awestruck. He had been so consumed by work that even where he went to relax was consumed by the city.

“Maple brought me here once. She said her parents used to take her here when she was little. They stopped coming when some kid tried to drown her.” Sal propped himself up so he could sit on the table. It was old, but stable. The wood was a faded gray, tinted a slight purple from the sun. Henry sat on the bench part on Sal’s right.

“Sheesh. All your friends have had _something_ happen to them.”

“Yeah. I guess that’s why we’ve all bonded together.” Sal unclasped his mask and let it hang on his neck. It was just him and his dad.

“They’re your support network, and you’re a part of theirs. I’m glad you’ve found friends here that actually treat you well.”

“ _Yeah_. As much as I miss New Jersey, my friends there sucked.” Sal gave a barking laugh. _‘I guess they weren’t really my friends in the first place.’_

Henry sucked in air through his teeth, causing a sharp whistle, as he leaned on the table with both arms folded over the other. “I’m sorry I can’t really do the same for you, Sal.”

Something struck Sal and he felt guilt weigh on his shoulders. Was he a handful? He really tried to make life easier for his father, even though he did occasionally lose his shit at him. Could he even _be_ a better son?

Henry reached into his coat and pulled a flask out of his pocket. _Here?_ Sal could feel himself snap. “Are you _serious_!?” He snatched the flask away from his father. “You ask me to come spend time with you and you bring your fucking flask!?” Without thinking, Sal chucks it out towards the water, and it lands with a loud _plunk_.

“Hey! A little bit of--”

“There is no ‘little bit’ with you! You’re a fucking _alcoholic_! Do you have any idea what this is doing to me? Have you ever thought about _me_? You’re not the only one who lost mom that day; fuck, I swear it’s my fault she’s gone! Is it my fault you’re like this too!?”

“No, no! It’s not like that! I just...” Henry trailed off, at a loss for words.

“I want my father back. I just want my fucking dad back. I don’t act mature because I want to, I have to because you’re neglectful. It’s one thing that you work all day, but it’s another thing altogether when you spend all of your free time completely inebriated. What if something happens to you!? What if I lose you, too!?” Sal was breathing heavily. He hated confronting people, hated fighting with people. He felt anxiety bubble deep in his gut and his face felt too hot to be comfortable.

Henry felt shameful. He looked away from Sal. He knew he was right, but it was hard for him to escape his habits. He never truly dealt with the death of his wife, so he buried himself in work or drink so he didn’t have to. “I’m sorry, Sal. I’m trying my best, I really am.”

“I know… I know… I just can’t deal with being on my own anymore. I wish you’d talk to me instead of drinking until you’re unconscious.”

Henry stood from his seat and wrapped his arms around his son. “I’m sorry, Sal. I’m so, so sorry.” He felt Sal convulse and he heard a small hiccup. He tried to hold back from crying. No, he’d be strong for his son. No more of this weakness. Henry let tears flow willingly from him. No more weakness. “I’m sorry. I can’t promise you I’ll be better, but goddammit I’ll try. I’d give anything for you.”

“That’s all I want.” He let himself relax in his father’s arms. He finally felt safe, taken care of. “I’m sorry for… Blowing up at you. We were supposed to have fun today. Instead I let out all the words I thought I let curl up and die on my tongue.”

Henry rubbed his hands along Sal’s back. “I think this needed to happen, Sal. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

“I love you so much, dad.”

“I love you, too, Sal, and I will _never_ leave you.”


	9. Barriers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal and Travis open up to each other, and the results are rewarding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my lord this chapter is _long_. Around 5,200 words. Sorry not sorry.  
> Finally getting some gay, haven't decided if smut will be in the next chapter.  
> This was a lot of fun to write and I really hope y'all enjoy it.  
> Thanks for reading!

A peaceful lull floated in the air as Sal slowly awoke that calm October morning. The wind shifting tree branches caught his eye as a little bird-- unidentifiable to him-- tapped on his bedroom window. He stretched out his arms and legs, knocking his blankets askew as he did so, disturbing his sleepy kitty. He reached down and scratched Gizmo behind his ear, cooing a high-pitched hum at the animal. He glanced over at the little alarm clock on his nightstand: 8:33 AM. He had about two hours before he had to leave.

He laid in bed a moment longer, sensing the atmosphere of the building. He could normally tell if there was something wrong among the ghosts. Feeling nothing, he swung his legs over his bedside and sat up. It had bothered him that the past month had been so quiet, but checking in with Megan and Mrs. Sanderson had given him no reason to suspect something terrible would happen. He reached for his hairbrush on his nightstand and began to brush out his bedhead as he thought. He hoped that he could help the ghosts of the apartments pass on. He didn’t even want to think about what he’d do if he couldn’t. Everything felt like it was some sort of last ditch effort.

Sal shook the thoughts away. He didn’t want to start his day upsetting himself. He’d deal with whatever came when it came. He stood and made his way over to the window. It was gray and a little fog had settled on the ground. The only colors that came were from the greens, oranges, reds, and so forth of the dying leaves. He smiled and caught a glimpse of himself in the reflection on the glass. These types of days were the only ones where he felt like he belonged in the world; dreary but with a little bit of energy. Dead with a little bit of life left over from before.

“ _Be kinder to yourself, Sal,”_ Ash’s voice rang in the back of his head. Was he being hard on himself in this moment? No, he decided, he was appreciating something that normally wouldn’t have been otherwise; in his typical unconventional way. He reached out and gently touched the glass, where his jawline reflected, the ghastly indent where his bone was missing. Maybe someday he’d gain the courage to not wear his prosthetic again. Over time he’d begun to take it off at home, showing himself to his father once again, then Larry (eventually including Lisa), Ash, and Maple had made him comfortable enough where he wouldn’t wear it around them either.

He should show Travis his face.

The thought made his heart jump into his throat. It would be the deciding factor over whether they would date, leaving Sal feeling like he didn’t have much of a choice in who he could show his face to. How soon would be too soon though? He could bring Travis back home with him today and take it off, but would Travis take that the wrong way? Sal was unsure if he truly wanted to date him yet. His heart still ached for Larry, but he needed to move on.

“Just be thankful you’re even alive and do something good with your time; this may be the only life you get.” He watched his mouth move in the reflection. It looked so unnatural to him, and probably to anyone else who could see. He opened up the window, effectively scaring away the little bird on the sill, and leaned out of it, letting his hair blow lightly with the breeze. It felt good, since it was always contained either by hair-ties or the clasps of his mask. _’Someday I’ll be brave.’_

He pushed away from the window and came back to his world. He stepped over to his nightstand and opened up the doors on the bottom half. He kept a little tabletop mirror wrapped in cloth and laid flat down on its face. He pulled it out and removed said cloth, standing up and moving over to his dresser to set it down. “Bravery begins when you stop hiding from yourself.” He nodded to himself, then decided to grab a post-it note. He wrote what he said down and stuck it to the bottom of the mirror. Whatever he needed to remind him to stop being so hard on himself.

He went back to his nightstand to grab his glass eye from his cup of water, sticking it into his eye socket, blinking a few times to set it in place. He thought about what he’d wear for a couple of minutes before settling on a cream-colored sweater dress and a pair of thick black tights. Simple, but season-appropriate and pretty cute. After changing, he sat on his bed and began to put his hair into a fishtail braid. A simple and cute hairstyle that kept his hair in place. He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and thought that he looked pretty good.

Sal slips on a pair of black booties before leaving his room. He makes his way over to the fridge and rummages around in it. He takes out an apple: something small to tide him over until he had brunch with Travis. Brunch seemed so… Formal to Sal, but completely expected because it was Travis. Travis the ultra conservative Christian boy. The complete opposite of Sal. Maybe that was why Sal was appealing to him, or maybe he saw a part of himself in Sal that he wasn’t allowed to explore because of his family’s views.

Sal wanted to introduce him to the strange little world he lived in. A world where nothing means everything and lighting random shit on fire was the best. A world where you and your group of friends go through a romp in the woods with beer and weed, and you just act reckless and wild. Say “fuck it” to responsibility for a few hours and the only thing that matters is the people with you in the here and now.

Sal quietly ate his apple at the dining table, contemplating his place in the world. He belonged both nowhere and everywhere. He was the little weirdo you’d either despise or be absolutely fascinated by. He wasn’t trying to be anything other than himself, but he didn’t fit anywhere comfortably and it bothered him a little bit.

“I’m having an existential crisis, aren’t I?” He took the last bite of his apple before chucking it into the garbage. He often would fall into those types of thoughts if he was left to his own devices for too long. He went and brushed his teeth before deciding to grab his jacket, a black leather one, and his prosthetic. He left the apartment, making sure he had his keys, entering the elevator. He punched for the first floor. He could at least go for a walk.

Once outside, he turned down the road towards the park. Sal wished he could feel the wind on his face. _‘Someday you’ll be brave enough, Sal Fisher, but that day isn’t today.’_ He pressed onward. His eyes grazed over all the houses and trees, taking in the little details. He saw two squirrels jump from branch to branch, loudly chattering to each other. Like a little couple. Sal liked to imagine that most animals were just like people, having their friends and their own partners.

At the park, Sal stood on a little stone bridge, one that was put over a little river that expanded out into a little pond, which the park itself had encroached upon. He leaned his arms on the metal railing and stared out, watching the water gently slide by underneath him.

“Are you out on a walk, too?”

Sal whipped himself around, startled. “Travis?”

The blond smirked at him and approached, taking his spot next to Sal. “My parents were fighting this morning and I didn’t want to stay.”

“Oh. That sucks. I was just lost in thought this morning.” Sal rolled back to his previous position. He saw Travis turn his head to look at him out of the corner of his eye.

“What are you thinking about now?”

“Time is oft represented by a flowing river. I hope my life’s timeline is as gentle and calm as this once you can look at it in its entirety. I don’t think it will be though.”

“Poetic. Is that necessarily a bad thing though? Sometimes people making a big splash can result in great things. Burn hard and fast instead of long and slow, all that stuff.”

Sal snickered and gave Travis’ arm a light punch. “Seems like I’m not the only beat poet around here.” Travis gave him a genuine smile and it made him feel warm inside. “As for your question… I dunno, it’s up to a matter of preference. You know I’m a quiet, non-confrontational person, and I’d like my life to be simple. It’d be nice to act like a calm stream.”

Travis hummed, thoughtful. “I think you’re more like a bird. Small and cute, but interesting. And free. Free to fly to where you want to be, free to be who you are. Free to give your finger to the idea of convention and conformity.” He rested his hand on Sal’s back.

“Man, Trav, who knew you had this beauty in you.”

“Occasionally. Don’t ask me to shake my head though; you’ll hear my brain rattle around in my skull.”

Sal couldn’t help himself from bursting out with laughter. “Seriously though, you’ve really kept this to yourself.”

“Ah, well, a year of introspection will really change you.”

“Wow. It _has_ been a year since you and I had that talk.” Sal let out a low whistle. “How come we’re only hanging out now?”

“Because it took me a little while before I stopped being a jerk?”

“Yeah, well,” Sal reached over and took Travis’ free hand, “I’m glad you’re here with me.”

Travis felt his face heat up, and he pulled Sal close to him so he could rest his chin on top of his head. “I’m glad I’m here with you, too.”

They stayed like that for a few minutes, enjoying each other’s company in a comfortable silence.

“You said your parents were fighting earlier?”

“Uh, yeah… Father isn’t opposed to being physically violent with me to get the gay out of me. Mother is, however, against it. Probably because she thinks I’m not gay.”

“You’ve never come out to them, I reckon?”

“No! No, I haven’t. Father merely _suspects_. Rightly so. I mean, I’ve got a cute _guy_ in my arms, not a girl.”

Sal scoffed. “I wouldn’t say ‘cute,’ per se. You don’t even know what I look like underneath my prosthetic.”

“I’ll admit I am curious, but I can still call you cute. Whatever you look like under there won’t change my mind.” Travis rubbed Sal’s arm with his hand, trying to reassure him. When he didn’t receive a response, he guided Sal away from the railing. “Come on, we did say we were going to have our date at a cafe. And I’m hungry.”

“Did you eat yet?”

“I haven’t. I actually sneaked out through my window, so my parents aren’t even aware that I’m no longer home.”

Sal broke away from him and turned to face him. “You’re so fucked when you get back home, Travis.”

“I know. So maybe...” Travis took a few steps forward, his arms up in a shrug. “Maybe I won’t go home.”

Sal’s eye fell on the bruise on Travis’ cheek, right under his eye. _‘That wasn’t there yesterday.’_ He approached him and slowly brought his hand up, gently running his fingers along the bruise. “Maybe that’s for the best.”

Travis smiled and placed his hand on top of Sal’s, pushing it in so that Sal’s palm rested along his cheek. “I like that you just _get_ me. No over-explaining. No needing to nudge you in the right direction.” He saw Sal scrunch up his eyes, probably because he was smiling back at him. He would have liked to have seen that smile.

“Food?” Sal questioned simply.

“Ah, right. Food!” Travis let go of Sal’s hand and offered his arm. Sal gladly took it, snaking his hand into the crook of his elbow.

The cafe wasn’t too far away, only across the street from one of the park’s entrances. Travis opened the door for Sal, to which he commented “such a gentleman!” earning him a chuckle. They took to seating themselves in a back corner, Sal’s back to the cafe. It was really more like a _diner_ now that he thought about it, but the owners called it a cafe, so who cares really.

As Sal undid the bottom clasp of his mask, the waiter approached. “Hi, Neil.”

Neil’s eyes went from Sal to Travis nonchalantly. “So, are you two official yet?”

“Haha. No, not yet, but if Travis plays his cards right...” Sal rested his chin on his hand, elbow propped up on the table. The smug little bastard.

Neil snorted before bringing his notepad out with his pencil. “As much as I’d love to stay and chat, I still have to _serve_ you. What’ll it be, boys?”

Travis gestured to Sal with his hand, signaling for him to go first. “I’ll have Belgian waffles with earl gray tea.”

“I’ll have eggs Benedict with breakfast sausages and black coffee.”

Neil jotted their orders down, leaving after giving Sal’s head a rough pat.

“I don’t know how you can drink coffee, especially black. Shit’s bitter.”

Travis propped his own elbow up on the table, mimicking Sal’s gesture earlier. “It’s all a matter of preference, my dear.” He winked and made a short clicking sound. Travis could feel how unamused Sal was.

Neil eventually arrived with their food and drink. He could see Travis practically drooling. “Enjoy yourselves. Especially you, Sally.” Neil leaned down and gave Sal a half hug before going off to take the orders of a few other people who came in. Travis didn’t hesitate to start digging into his food.

“Breakfast wasn’t the only meal you missed, I’m guessing.”

Travis looked up at Sal as he spoke, but lowered his gaze before answering. “Father sent me to my room without dinner yesterday.”

Something burned within Sal. Something more than just anger. Something he couldn’t quite name. His grip on his utensils was so tight his knuckles had begun to turn white. “You’re not going home tonight.”

“That’s the plan.”

“ _I fucking mean it_. I’ll figure something out, but you’re not stepping foot back in that house.”

Travis met his eyes with a somber look on his face. “I believe you. It’s not like I’m the only one with a bruise though.” He gestured to his own neck, where finger marks were left purple around Sal’s throat.

“Dealing with a terrible high school bully and an abusive parent isn’t the same.”

Travis just shrugged his shoulders. “You know what I’m getting at.”

“I do, but...” Sal let his voice drift off. They didn’t need to be specific with each other. They just got it.

“So...” Travis started after a moment, “how was yesterday?” Topic change. Smart.

“It was fun. I took dad out to a place Maple took me once. I did get a little upset at him since he’s a...” Sal made a drinking gesture with his hand in front of his mouth. Travis nodded, signifying that he understood. “He said he’d try to be better, but… Well, whatever. I had fun with him yesterday anyway. We don’t get to spend much time together. Never really have been able to.”

“He seems to be a good father regardless of his _bad habits_.”

“I’d never say otherwise. I’m lucky to have him.”

The two fell into a comfortable quiet as they ate their food. When they finished and got up to leave, Travis left their pay and a hearty tip on the table. The larger man ushered his smaller counterpart out, linking their arms together as he did so. “Where to, now?”

Sal thought for a moment, knocking his head side to side. “Wanna go see what Larry’s up to?”

Travis took a moment to respond. “You know what? Let’s.”

“I’m happy you and him are getting along.”

“We’re getting along _well enough_ , but I wouldn’t say we’re on particularly great terms yet.”

“It’s the effort that matters.” Sal hugged himself closer to Travis’ arm. Travis kissed the top of Sal’s head.

They walked to Addison Apartments without talking; Travis could tell Sal was deep in thought and didn’t want to bother him. Sal’s mind kept flicking between Larry and Travis. He felt like he wanted to be with Travis, but he definitely wasn’t over Larry. He also definitely wanted to parade Travis around in front of Larry as a “fuck you” to him for unknowingly breaking his heart over and over again. _Again and again._

Maybe Larry would start to like him if he wasn’t an option anymore.

Sal shook his head at himself. _‘That’s not a road I want to go down.’_

Travis noticed the discomfort Sal was in. “You okay?”

Sal stammered over himself before being able to respond. “Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking about things I shouldn’t be.”

Travis didn’t push. Whatever it was, Sal would tell him if he felt comfortable doing so, or even if he deemed it important to talk about at all.

When they arrive at the apartment building, Sal leads Travis around to the back. “Larry lives in the basement,” he explained, “so it’s quicker to come in this way.” Sal creaked the door open, already hearing Larry blaring out Sanity’s Fall. He sees Travis mouth “loud.” He follows right behind Sal as he enters and descends the stairs. Larry has his back turned to them, painting something. Travis stays standing on the steps as Sal slinks over to turn the music off.

“Yo, Sal, back already?” Larry doesn’t even turn around from where he’s seated.

“Yeah. We only went out to eat together.”

“Huh. Then I’m guessin’ ya probably didn’t spend a lotta time with… Him...” His voice trails off as he turns around and sees Travis, who awkwardly waves at him.

Sal sighs and walks over to Larry, placing his hands on his arm. “Please play nice.” His voice is low. It sounds more like a warning than a plea to Larry, but he shakes it off. Sal beckons Travis to come join them. He stiffly shifts from one foot to the other before shuffling over to the other two men, whereupon Sal gives him a hug. “You be good, too.” Sal sounds _a lot_ more playful with Travis, much to Larry’s chagrin.

“You don’t have to worry about me, blue jay.” Travis returns the hug, giving Sal a tight squeeze. Sal _really_ liked the pet name.

“Uh, so are you two… Like, a _thing_ now?” Larry felt like he was going to be sick.

The two men looked at each other before giving an awkward, breathy laugh. “I think it’s a ‘no’ for now.” Travis looked pained as he said that, although he tried to hide it. Sal still felt it, and he suspected why Travis was giving him an out. It hurt Sal’s heart, unable to pinpoint why however.

Sal broke away from Travis’ embrace and went back over to the amps. “So! Travis is here, so why don’t we subject him to our music tastes?”

Travis picked up on how uncomfortable Sal was. Change the subject. “Sure. I wouldn’t mind.” He went and sat on the couch.

“Oh, Trav, you have no idea what you’re in for.” Sal felt a little giddy inside as he turned the music back on, Sanity’s Fall blasting out again. Sal resisted the urge to headbang so he could watch Travis. He took a seat on Larry’s bed, watching Travis bring his hand up to his chin. He didn’t seem to dislike the music, as far as Sal could tell, but he wasn’t getting into the groove of it either. Shit.

Larry was headbanging like crazy, his hair a brown blur obscuring his face. _‘Well, at least one of them is having fun.’_ Sal was starting to get a little anxious. _‘Please don’t say anything stupid to each other.’_

When the song was over, Larry placed his hands on his hips and looked at Travis expectantly. “Well?”

It took a moment for Travis to respond. “It’s a little hard to understand the lyrics, but that’s probably something I’ll get an ear for as I keep listening more and more. I do like it though. Very intense.”

“ _I like it.”_ That was all Sal needed to hear. He let out a way too loud breath, causing the other two to look at him. Panic set back in. “I-- I don’t want any fighting, okay!”

Larry’s face fell. He knew Sal was thinking about him saying something stupid to Travis. He sat down in his beanbag chair, facing away from the both of them.

Travis could sense the panic in Sal. _Change their focus._ His eyes darted around Larry’s room, landing on the television and console. “You’re allowed to play video games?”

“Yeah. What, you’re not?” The question made Larry feel stupid as soon as it was out of his mouth.

“No. Mother thinks they come from the devil. She thinks a lot of things are of the devil.” Travis scoffed and leaned his arms on his legs. “Before you ask: no, I don’t believe the shit my parents tell me.” He looked over at Sal, noticing that he kept touching his mask. Huh.

“That sucks, man. Video games are the best thing to ever grace this earth.” Larry rested himself on his side, his head propped up by his hand.

“Well, I’ll have plenty of time to play catch up when I move out.” He kept his eyes trained on the blue-haired boy on his left. “Sal, what’s bothering you.”

“Wuh?” Sal seemed to have gone away for a minute, Travis’ voice pulling him back to reality. “I’m sorry?”

“I asked you what’s wrong. You keep touching your face.”

Larry looked at Sal, seeing his fingers tracing along the bottom of his prosthetic.

“Uh. I’m fine. I’m just...” His heartbeat picked back up. “I’m just used to not wearing my prosthetic when I’m down here, is all.”

Larry smirked, looking back at Travis. “I’m _special_ , ya see.” The smug fuck. Sal didn’t like that.

Sal stood up and made his way to Travis’ side. He’d show Larry. He gingerly took Travis’ hands and guided them to behind his head, placing his fingers on his bottom clasp. Travis furrowed his brows, confusion settling on his face. He searched Sal’s eyes for what felt like forever, trying to determine whether he really wanted him to do this or not. Seeing no signs telling him to stop, Travis undid the clip with a soft _ping_ . He timidly went to the upper clip, eyes still locked with Sal. _Ping_. He tenderly pulled the mask away and placed it in his companion’s lap.

Travis slipped one hand behind Sal’s neck and rested his other hand on his cheek, smoothing his thumb over a particularly nasty scar. “What in God’s name happened to you?”

Sal’s lip quivered. “I got-- got mauled by a dog.”

Travis’ brows scrunched up even more. “What really happened?”

Sal’s eyes widened. He was so direct. It took almost everything in Larry to keep himself from getting up and decking Travis right in the head, but he was kept stunned in his beanbag.

“When I was little, about three years old, I was out on a picnic with my family. Dad was off doing something-- I don’t remember what-- and I kept begging my mom to let me go pet this dog. She eventually gave up and let me go. Next thing I know, I’m in the hospital and my mom’s dead. I kept being told it was a dog, but the more I think about it, the more I remember...” Sal paused. He had been eerily calm, it unsettled everyone in the room. “I swear to God what happened was caused by a man.”

Travis pressed his forehead to Sal’s. “And no one believes you.”

“No.” He spoke so quiet and soft, like all the fight had gone out of him. He felt so small.

Travis pulled him into a tight bear-hug, Sal’s face pressed into the crook of Travis’ neck. Travis’ mouth was by Sal’s ear. “I believe you. I’m sure Larry does, too,” he whispered, trying to keep the rage bubbling in his gut down. It broke his heart when Sal started to cry. He felt the smaller man convulse in his arms, and he rubbed at his back, trying to reassure him. “It’s okay. Let it all out.”

It took a while for Sal’s sobbing to die down to just sniffles and a few hiccups. Travis refused to let him go. This little thing in his arms was the love of his life and he promised himself he’d never let go.

Sal pulled away from Travis, but one of Travis’ arms remained around him. “So,” he started, wiping away the tears on his cheek, “what do you think?”

“Trying to lighten the mood?” He let out a short airy chortle. Sal simply nodded. “Well...” He was being sly. He ran his index finger down along Sal’s jaw, lifting his chin so that they looked at each other. “I think you’re gorgeous.”

“Oh shut up, you can’t be serious.” Sal had no mask on to hide the deep blush that creeped onto his face. “I don’t know how you could find this attractive.”

“Scars are just a mark on your skin, they don’t really change how you look like that much. But. These tell a story. It’s not a happy story, but it’s still a part of who you are. And I like the person I see. The person right here with me is someone I want to keep by my side.”

Sal’s mouth opened and closed a few times before his lips broke into a smile, a smile that absolutely melted Travis. “You’re gonna make me cry again, you ass.”

Larry was left in awe at the events unfolding in front of him. Sal had completely opened himself up to someone who used to make his life a living hell. Sal was really in love with this guy.

Travis couldn’t help himself. The way Sal smiled, his cute little laugh, the way he _looked_ at him, with those big blue eyes, his mouth slightly agape, his front teeth lightly resting on his bottom lip. He rested his hand in the crook where his jaw met his neck and pushed his lips into his. The kiss made Sal squeak, but he quickly twinned his arms behind Travis’ neck. Travis’ mind did cartwheels. He wanted to do more, wanted to take in every inch of him.

“Okay you two, break it up!” Larry shot up from his seat. He didn’t like this one bit. “If you’re gonna do this shit, get out of my room.” He wanted Sal for himself; he couldn’t look at this.

They broke apart, Sal rubbing drool from the side of his mouth. He muttered a small “sorry” before taking Travis by the hand and leaving the room, hastily clasping his prosthetic back on as they left the apartment. Sal’s heart was beating fast and his breathing was heavy. _‘I just had my first kiss! Oh my god oh my god oh my god!’_ He didn’t hear the elevator come and Travis had to pull him inside.

“What floor are you on, jay?”

“Fourth.” His stomach was consumed by butterflies. He couldn’t think. It didn’t help when Travis leaned over to peck at his neck. “Travis, if you don’t watch yourself, I’m gonna drop to my knees and blow you.” He felt Travis smile against his neck and it sent shivers down his spine.

“Maybe later, jay, mkay?”

The two men are immediately greeted by Sal’s father when they enter the apartment. Sal is too flustered to focus, but Travis is able to save them. “Hi, Mr. Fisher. It’s nice to meet you.” He reached out for a handshake and Henry gladly took it.

“You can just call me Henry, Travis. It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Sally stops paying attention. He plays the events of the day over and over again in his head. He got a boyfriend that day? But he wasn’t sure how he felt about it all. He wanted Travis, but it felt like things were going a bit fast. And what was up with Larry? Him kicking out Sal and Travis had really hurt Sal’s feelings, now that he thought about it. He understood him not wanting to watch his best friend make out with a guy he was trying really hard not to hate, but he could have been nicer about it.

Sal felt guilty over still wanting to be with Larry. He had his first kiss, and only about half of his thoughts were about the man he just hooked up with. The other half were about Larry. About how much he wanted to still be with him, how he wanted him to watch as he fell for someone else.

He felt gross.

“Hey, hon, do you maybe want to take this off?” Travis tapped the bottom of Sal’s mask. Sal didn’t respond verbally, choosing only to take it off. Travis left him be; he’d talk about whatever had him occupied later. _‘When did we sit on the couch?’_

Sal tried to focus in on the conversation, but he could barely manage. _‘C’mon, Sal, you can’t even pay attention to your boyfriend. Well, maybe boyfriend.’_

“I remember this one Christmas where my grandmother had gotten me this big-- and I’m talking gigantic-- box of chocolate-covered pretzels. I had no self control and I made myself _so sick_.”

“Sal has the same problem. Halloween is the _worst_. It’s now known as I Have to Monitor Sal for the Next Month Day.”

“ _Please don’t make fun of me_ ,” Sal expressed himself in a quiet and pathetic manner, making the two other men laugh at him.

“I’m sorry, jay, you’re just too cute.” Travis pressed a kiss to Sal’s temple, placating him.

“Jay?” Henry tilted his head.

“Blue jay. Just a pet name.” Travis smiled to himself. He thought it suited Sal perfectly.

“Hey, dad, I have to ask you something. Can Travis stay with us for the next little while?”

Henry’s face scrunched up. Travis didn’t like where this was going.

“That bruise on his face isn’t the first one his father has left, and it won’t be the last if things continue as they are. I don’t want him going home.”

Henry nodded his head, thinking. “I don’t see a problem letting him stay here, but don’t get in over your head. It wouldn’t be helpful to him if you got hurt, now would it.”

Sal’s face lit up and any anxiety Travis was facing melted away. “Thank you, Henry.”

Sal tackled Henry with a hug. “Thank you so, so much, dad!”

“I already said that he could come here as an escape. It’s no big deal to me, bud.”

With that out of the way, Sal settled into the crook of the couch, Travis’ arm slung comfortably around him. The evening pressed on pleasantly, Henry and Travis keeping up a raucous conversation late into the night, only stopping to eat the dinner Sal prepared.

Travis finally felt cozy somewhere.


	10. Magnetism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I feel like I’ve just found a part of me that I didn’t even know was missing, and I’ve got it back."  
> "You are my sun, my moon, my stars in the sky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, this was a doozie to write, but it was a lot of fun. Prepare for smut.  
> Thanks for reading!

The evening had worn on easily for Sal. Travis and his father were getting along fantastically, which not only lifted a weight from Sal’s shoulders that he didn’t even know he was carrying, but it gave him time to think to himself.

He was becoming aware of his feelings quickly blossoming for the man he was kept right next to, wholly falling in love with him, but something ticked away in the depths of his mind. He chalked it up to not having gotten over his crush on his best friend, but he couldn’t help but wander off to these little ideas on how he could get Larry to be jealous. The thoughts still left a sour taste in his mouth, even if he told himself they were merely benign fantasies and nothing more. He’d have been lying if he said they weren’t at all a little tantalizing.

Sal nuzzled his head into Travis’ shoulder, letting out a soft sigh. He enjoyed being so close to him as well as how quickly Travis had become so physically affectionate towards him. It was comfy.

Henry stretched and stood from his spot on the sofa. “Well, I think I’ll head to bed. I have to head into work early tomorrow for some stupid crap. Don’t stay up too late.”

“Goodnight.” Sal pressed himself further into Travis, who parroted Sal’s response to Henry. Henry left for bed with a smile on his face: Sal picked a good person to bring home.

“So...” Travis started, and Sal felt his heart jump. “I’m sleeping on the couch?”

That wasn’t what Sal was expecting. “What? No!”

“Why not? I’m not taking your bed from you.”

“Because who knows how long you’ll be here for and it’s not good for your back. Plus, we’re dating; we can sleep together for a little while.”

Travis hesitated before speaking, his face beginning to flush. “Well, I, uh… I don’t know if I could keep my hands off of you, Sal.”

“Who says I’d be bothered by that?” Sal purred out, brushing his fingers along Travis’ chest.

“I-- Uh--” Travis was stammering, totally flustered. “This isn’t too soon, is it? I’ve had celibacy pushed on me like crazy so I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing.”

“Travis, it’s fine. We don’t have to fuck if you don’t want to, but it isn’t a big deal if we do. Besides, you’ve been a little handsy with me before we even started dating.”

Travis wasn’t pacified. “Where do we stand? Like, in our relationship. Because I love you and I don’t want this to be casual.”

Sal took Travis’ hand and pressed a kiss on his cheek. “You’re my cute boyfriend and I love you, too. I know today’s been going by really fast for us, but that’s just how _I_ am. You’ve seen my face, you didn’t react negatively to it, there isn’t anything I care to hold back from now.”

Travis broke out into a grin, pressing his forehead to Sal’s. “How about… We go to bed and see where it leads us?” He was being playful, giving Sal’s ear a nip before getting up and walking off to Sal’s room.

Sal turned off the television and got off the sofa himself. He made sure to put things away in the kitchen first and turn off all the lights before finally going to his room. When he enters he sees Travis standing before his dresser in only a gray t-shirt and trunks, reading the post-it Sal left on his mirror. Sal quietly closes the door behind him and slinks up to Travis. He wraps his arms around his waist and rests the side of his head on the back of Travis’ shoulder. “I don’t know how you can read that with just the lamp on.”

“My eyesight is better than yours; that’s how.” He replaces the mirror before pulling Sal’s hands off and him. He turns around to face him and angles Sal’s head up so he can kiss him. Sal gladly reciprocates, twinning his arms behind Travis’ head. Travis pulls away after a moment. “You should probably change clothes.”

“Yeah. And take out my eye and do other stuff.” Sal let out a puff of air as he surveyed his floor for his pajamas.

“I’m sorry, what? Take out your eye?”

“I have a glass eye, babe. My lacrimal sac has been damaged so my eye can’t lubricate itself so the tissue in my eye socket will chafe. You’ve seen me use eye drops throughout the day before.”

“Oh, okay. So that glass of water on your nightstand isn’t for drinking then.”

“No. You didn’t, did you?”

“I was thinking about it.”

Sal swatted Travis’ arm and laughed. “Well don’t.” Sal started to take off his dress and tights as he spoke. “Just go get a drink from the kitchen if you’re thirsty.”

“Oh I’m thirsty all right.”

“Oh. My. _God_! You’re awful.” Sal almost fell over while he was putting on his shorts. He watched Travis pull back the blankets and climb into bed. Sal turned away from him to take out his eye, dropping it into the glass when it was out. “All right, big guy, I’ll be back. I have to go _prepare_.” Sal leaned over the bed to give the other man a peck on the lips before he opened up his nightstand and took his enema. “I’ll be in the bathroom for a little while, so find something to entertain yourself.”

Travis laid back with an arm behind his head after watching Sal leave. He had a nice butt. A butt he was allowed to touch. He broke out into a stupid grin. He had no idea how he got here, but he was damn happy he did. Even if he and Sal didn’t end up having sex he was still happy to be sharing a bed with him. Travis never thought of himself as a cuddly person, but now he understood what was so appealing about it. He wanted to protect Sal, cherish him, care for him, _protect_ him. He wouldn’t let his parents get in their way. They could go fuck themselves. Travis’ hand traveled to his shirt collar and felt around for his cross. He twirled it in his fingers before deciding to take it off, gently placing it on the nightstand beside him.

His curiosity peaking, Travis pulled open the drawer and went nosing around. He pulled out a box of condoms, his blood rushing downward as a result. He pulled one out, figuring it would be a good idea for him to use it. Should fit him, too. He left the box and the condom on the nightstand before digging around in the drawer again. He pulls out two tubes of… Something. He holds them to the lamps. Lube. Water-based and silicone-based. He puts them both on the nightstand. Sal probably knows what he’s doing. He closes the drawer in time to Sal opening up the door and coming back in.

Sal strides over and places his enema and a few towels on his dresser. He gets practically smothered by Travis when he climbs into bed with him. “Miss me?”

“Yes.” Travis peppers his face with kisses before he mashes their lips together, pushing Sal to lay on his back, Travis’ hands on either side of him. Sal’s hands explore Travis’ chest.

Travis licks Sal’s lips before trailing down his jaw to his neck. His little pants are driving him crazy. He bites Sal’s neck, sucking on him, causing Sal to moan and arch his back. Travis was definitely hard now, no doubt about it.

“Hey, jay, I have a job for those cute little hands of yours,” he whispers into Sal’s ear, sending a bolt of electricity through his body. Sal complies and slides a hand down Travis’ chest and abdomen, resting it on his growing bulge.

“In or out, honey?” Sal gently rubs him through his trunks.

“In,” he growls, biting another mark into Sal’s neck as Sal shoves his hand into his boyfriend’s underwear and takes his manhood. He begins to pump slowly, Travis groaning into his neck. He slides his free hand to his own member, but Travis grabs his wrist and pins it above him.

Sal blows a strand of hair out of his face. “If you’re gonna be rough, we should at least have a safeword.”

Travis stops dead in his tracks. “Good idea. Red?”

“That works.” Sal presses a kiss to Travis’ cheek before turning his head the other way to give Travis more access. His dick twitches in Sal’s hand as he licks a line from his collarbone to his jaw, making Sal whimper. He glides his hand over Sal’s chest, feeling for his nipple. He rubs at it, circling his middle finger around it. “Please.” Sal bucks his hips up, but Travis pulls his own up, making Sal miss contact.

“’Please’ what, baby?”

“Please touch me.”

“But I am.” He smirks at Sal, running his hand inside Sal’s shirt to play with his nipple some more.

“Trav, if you don’t fuck me _now_ , I will rip your dick off.” Travis snorts against his neck. Then, in one deft movement, takes off Sal’s clothes, his cock now free to twitch against his belly. Travis reaches for the hem of his shirt and pulls it off over his head, winking at Sal. “Stop flirting with me and start fucking me!”

“Tsk, tsk, Sal, have some patience.” He kissed Sal’s forehead before moving down to suck on his nipple. Sal buried his fingers into Travis’ hair and whined.

“Babe, I can’t take much more of this. _Please_ ,” Sal almost cried out. _‘Don’t be too loud.’_

“All right, all right. I’ve tortured you enough.” Travis kissed Sal as he took off his trunks. He sat up and reached over to the nightstand, grabbing the condom off of it. “So… Uh. Mm.”

Sal plucked it from his fingers, tossing it back onto the nightstand. He took the pink lube and gave it to Travis. “I want to feel only you.”

Travis popped open the lip and squirted some of the liquid onto his hand. “Do I just… Stick myself in or…?”

“I prepped myself. Wait, hold on.” Sal grabbed a towel from his dresser and spread it out on the bed before laying back down. “You’re good to go.” Sal watched him spread the lube on his dick with hungry eyes. Travis took a tissue (man, Sal has everything) and cleaned off his hand before lifting Sal up and guiding himself into him. He felt every muscle in his body contract as he slid into Sal, it felt so damn good. Sal’s moaning was everything.

Once he was all in, he leans over and presses his forehead to Sal’s, pushing his arms underneath his smaller counterpart. Sal wraps his arms around Travis’ shoulders and his legs around his lower back, holding him in an embrace. Travis moves his head to rest next to Sal’s on the pillow, pushing their bodies even closer together. “You’re more muscular than I was expecting, Trav. I like it.”

“Oh, jay, flattery will get you everywhere.” To emphasize his point, Travis pulls back and slams himself back into Sal, making him squeak. “You’re so cute.” He readjusts himself so one of his hands is underneath Sal’s head, supporting him. He kisses Sal’s cheek. “Good to go?”

Sal feverishly nods. He _needs_ this. Travis starts up a slow and steady pace, rocking himself back and forth into Sal. His breath hitched and a grunt caught in his throat. It felt so fucking good. Sal’s fingers travel along his back, tracing his spine and ribs and muscles. Sal’s heart beat fast; the thought of him finally being pinned underneath someone and held while he got fucked was all he could think about for the past month. He was getting his wish, his dream. Sal sighed and lolled his head to the side. “Could you speed up, baby?”

Travis obeyed his little love, slamming himself into Sal. It was rough and loud, just as Sal wanted. He dug his nails into Travis’ back, moaning through gritted teeth. Exactly what he wanted. Travis snaked his arm out from Sal’s back and started to stroke Sal’s dick, going the same speed as his thrusting, his other hand tangled in Sal’s hair behind his head.

They weren’t going to last much longer.

Sal started biting and sucking at Travis’ shoulder. He wasn’t the only one leaving with hickies tonight. He could feel the pleasure pooling in his gut. His mouth popped off his boyfriend as he threw his head back and nearly screamed, some drool falling out of his mouth. “Babe, I’m gonna-- Oh _fuck_ \-- Kiss! **Kiss me**!” Travis hastily grabbed at Sal’s face, tugging his hair, and caught Sal’s lips, pushing his tongue inside as the other cried out, his cum shooting across his stomach. His orgasm wracked his body, legs tensing and pushing Travis closer to him.

With a few shallow thrusts, he felt Travis spend his seed inside of him. It burned up his insides. He groaned into Sal’s mouth, taking one final nip at his bottom lip before collapsing on top of him, breathing heavily.

After a moment, he sat up and began to pull himself out of his blue-haired partner, who released him from his leg trap. He grabbed the tissue box from their-- _Sal’s_ \-- nightstand and handed it to him before laying down next to his sweet blue jay. He watched Sal take some out and clean up his stomach, the white liquid disappearing with no trace. He left the used tissues balled up on his nightstand. A problem to deal with tomorrow.

As he laid down, Travis pulled up the blankets and covered him. Sal curled up beside him, head in the crook where Travis’ arm held his head. He let his free hand brush through Sal’s hair. God he was so gorgeous.

“Hey, Trav? I have a probably stupid question for you. If you’re still religious, how come you had sex with me?”

’ _Ah. Well, no better time to bring this up than now,’_ he supposes. “I’m not as religious as I used to be. I thought long and hard about it, and I’ve decided that I’d rather live my life doing what feels right rather than let religion, which can easily be altered by other people, or something like it dictate what I do.

“Now this. _This_ feels so right. I look at you, right beside me, and I feel like I’ve just found a part of me that I didn’t even know was missing, and I’ve got it back. I can’t let you go,” he smoothed his thumb over Sal’s temple. “I love you; I mean it.”

Sal’s heart felt like it was about to burst, like Travis had plucked the very words from his brain and melded it into a poem right in front of his eyes. He felt tears pool in his eye and fall down his face. He shot up and held onto Travis as if his life depended on it. “I love you, too. You are my sun, my moon, my stars in the sky.”

Travis smiled, rubbing at Sal’s back. “You are my sweet, little blue jay, and I’ll keep your nest safe in our little tree, through rain and shine.”

Sal cried against Travis. He felt so safe and cared for. He never wanted this feeling to end, never wanted this night to end. Travis turned out the lamp on the nightstand and laid Sal down next to him, holding him in an embrace.

Before long, they had both fallen asleep, completely inseparable.


	11. Sensitivity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal has a sensitivity to the paranormal, to the point where he feels he might explode from all the energy.  
> Travis is kinder than once thought, and catches someone red-handed when they needed to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy fuck! I was so sick! But I'm back now. And this took forever to write! It's about 6,200 words. It's a doozy. Fuck!  
>  **Edit:** Hey guys, I made a Tumblr: follow me at lollipopdollie.tumblr.com

Sal felt warm. Safe. Travis was pressed along his back, one arm underneath Sal and wrapped around his waist, the other arm outstretched to hold Sal’s hands. One head above the other. Sal could see his clock from where he lie: 7:03AM. He needed to get up and get ready for when Maple and Ash came to pick him up. _‘Now, how am I to leave without waking up Travis?’_

He stayed put, thinking. It would’ve been a lot easier had Travis not had him by the waist. He was also reluctant to leave their little cocoon. If Sal hadn’t made plans prior to their relationship starting, he would have spent the entire day in bed together.

Travis stretched and yawned, bringing his hand up to rub at his face. _‘Looks like I don’t have to wake him up.’_ Yet, Sal still hesitated before saying, “good morning.”

“Morning,” Travis mumbled, replacing his arm across Sal and pecking his temple. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, no, I was actually trying to figure out how to get out of this love trap you have me in.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” He unfurled his arm from Sal’s waist and lifted up the blanket with his other arm, allowing Sal to escape. He wouldn’t let him go without a bat to the ass however. The look Sal gave him was priceless. “Looove you,” he cooed, smirking at himself in satisfaction.

“Looove you, too,” Sal mocked, rolling his eyes. He threw on his discarded clothes from the night before, shorts and a t-shirt, and looked around the room. “Shit, Trav, you don’t have a change of clothes with you.”

“Eh, I’ll figure it out.” He dropped the towel that had been left laid in their bed on the floor before hunkering back down. “I think I’ll sleep in, for once.”

Sal shook his head. “Alright, lazy bones, but Maple and Ash are coming by in a few hours to come pick me up, so don’t sleep too long.” He heard an “mhm” as a response before seeing Travis bury his face in the covers. He often spent his free time doing things for the Phelps Ministry, especially on Sundays. Now that he was essentially a runaway, all of that went out the window. They’d have to talk about what Travis planned on doing with himself later.

Sal started quietly cleaning up, putting his things away in his nightstand, folding up Travis’ clothes and putting them on the dresser, and taking the used towel, tissues, and the glass with his eye before leaving his room. He didn’t spot Henry on his way to the bathroom, so no awkward explanation as to why he had a towel and dirty tissues with him. He threw the towel into the hamper and the tissues into the trash, then placed the glass on the sink. He looked to the mirror and caught sight of his neck. He almost screamed; he had three large, dark hickies there, accentuated by how milky-white his skin was. How was he going to hide them? He fishes out his eye from the glass and rinses the soft lens solution out, then refills it with hard lens solution, setting it back onto the sink. Sal takes a deep breath and leaves the bathroom, remembering to grab his eyepatch first; he’d deal with the hickies later.

“Good morning, Sal.” Henry caught him. He went wide-eyed, then quickly burst out into laughter. Well, Sal was dealing with his problem _now_ , then. “Had fun last night?”

Sal opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish. “Uh, you-- You didn’t hear-- hear anything, did you?”

Henry furrowed his eyebrows. “No, I didn’t, what do you-- _Oh_.” Henry chuckled and ruffled Sal’s hair. “Nope, I was fast asleep, don’t worry. Be safe, Sal.” He shook his head and smiled to himself, pushing past Sal to go into the bathroom. Sal was left bug-eyed, staring at nothing. He cursed himself for being so awkward.

Travis rolled over in bed, unable to fall back asleep. Years of being forced to wake up early in the morning now kept him from enjoying a few extra hours of sleep. He also just wanted Sal back with him. With a huff, he flung the blankets off of him and swung his legs off the bed and onto the floor. He threw on his trunks and t-shirt and padded out of the room. He heard something sizzling in the kitchen and found Sal making food.

“ _You_!” Sal thudded his way towards Travis, waggling his finger at his neck. Travis was in _trouble_. “Look what you did!” He was squawking, obviously not happy. Travis couldn’t help the smirk that spread itself on his lips.

“Ah, my masterpiece.”

“I will _end_ you.” He rolled his eye and pinched Travis’ sides before heading back to the stove. Travis followed suit, resting his head on top of Sal’s as the shorter man flipped over the bacon he was cooking. “How does bacon and french toast sound?”

“Sounds good to me.” His hands settled on Sal’s hips. He was content; spending the morning here was far better than any morning previous, as he was always rushing to do something, either one or both of his parents shouting at and reprimanding him. Instead, he was being made food, and he could just soak up the tranquility of the whole thing. He closed his eyes and listened to Sal’s humming.

“Hey, could you go sit? I can’t really get around with you holding me. We’ll snuggle later.”

He complied, taking a seat at the dining table. He sighed and watched his partner fiddle around some more before noticing the eyepatch. Peculiar. “What’s that for, jay?”

“What’s what for?” He looked up from the frying pan. Man, Travis could get lost in that eye, it looked at him so innocently.

“The eyepatch.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t want anything getting into my eye socket. And other people probably don’t want to see the inside of it either. It is a little gross.” Sal made a face and shrugged his shoulders.

“It isn’t gross, babe.”

“You’re not as squeamish as some other people are, Trav.”

Travis decided to let the conversation die off. “So...” He began, “is your dad joining us?”

“Dad? No, he left for work right before you came out.” He put food onto two plates and brought them over. He kissed Travis cheek. “I’m happy you two are getting along as much as you are.”

“Yeah. Be thankful; you’d never get along with mine.”

“I’d _murder_ your fucking parents.” Sal’s face twitched in irritation. He went back to the kitchen and poured Travis a cup of coffee, then pulled a can of soda out of the fridge for himself. He took a seat across from Travis. “How’s your morning been in the Fisher abode, babe?”

“No one’s hit me yet, or yelled at me, so I’d say it’s been pretty good.” Sal’s heart sank. His parents were just the worst. “It’s a plus to wake up next to you, though.” Travis flashed Sal a warm, genuine smile; he could have melted right then and there.

With breakfast eaten and dishes left in the sink, Sal made his way to the bathroom, taking off his eyepatch. He pulled a bag out from underneath the sink and set it on the rim, then takes out everything he needs. He washes his hands, using a special soap made specifically for people with artificial eyes. He ties his hair into a messy bun, then grabs his eye wash and eye cup. He pours the solution into the cup and presses it to his eye socket, then tilts his head back. He tilts his head back down and removes said cup, then blinks a few times. He grabs an eyelid wipe and gently cleans his lid, then pads it dry with a cloth.

Travis comes by and leans on the door frame. “Cleaning yourself?”

“Yep,” Sal replies, fishing his eye from the glass. He turns on the taps, checking the temperature with his fingers. When he feels that it’s lukewarm, he runs his eye underneath it, then grabs a bottle of baby shampoo. He carefully lathers it, then rinses. He brings it up to his socket, pulls down his lower lid, and slips it in, blinking to set it in place. He puts a drop of eye lubricant on his finger and swipes it along the surface of the eye. He blinks a few times, then repeats again with eye drops. He pads away the excess on his skin with a tissue.

“Seems pretty involved. Do you have to do this every day?”

“No, I only need to clean my eye every few weeks. I have to keep myself clean and lubed up every day, though.” He rinses his hands before turning off the taps, drying his hands, and then starts to put his things away. “You don’t think it’s gross or weird, do you?” Sal suddenly feels self-conscious under his partner’s gaze. Not even Larry had ever watched him do that.

“No. Why would taking care of yourself be weird?” Sal looks up, and sees Travis’ face scrunched up, as if he couldn’t believe that Sal had actually asked him that.

Sal’s eye flits to the mirror and he feels sick. The indent along his jaw, the deep scar of a gash that traveled under his right eye across his mouth. Said mouth was stretched back on the same side, and while he could close his lips, his mouth often hung open. Injured and mangled nostrils. A stippling of lighter gray scars all over his face. Skin wrinkled in some places. God he hated himself. “Travis, how the _fuck_ could you find this attractive?” He asked, gesturing to his face, before he could think to stop himself.

“How could I not?” He approached Sal, taking his head in his hands. “You’re gorgeous.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? I am absolutely _hideous_ ,” he shouts, starting to cry. “My face is completely fucking mangled! People find my prosthetic creepy, but that’s nothing compared to when people see my actual face.”

Travis presses a kiss to Sal’s forehead. “You’re like… A porcelain vase that was broken. But when it was put back together, it wasn’t painted over or completely repaired, so that it could be appreciated in a different way. I know people can be shitheads-- I mean, _I_ used to be awful to you-- but there’s nothing wrong with you.” He pulls Sal close to his chest, rubbing circles into his back with his fingers. “I know this won’t cure you of your problems, but you’re beautiful.”

Sal rubbed at his cheek, trying to dry it of tears, and sniffled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Travis peppered Sal’s face with kisses. “After pining for you for two and a half years, you’re finally mine.” He hooked his fingers under Sal’s chin and pulled his face up. Their lips connected briefly before Travis let go of Sal so they could get dressed.

Sal’s bedroom was a lot cleaner than Travis was expecting, now that he was able to get a good look at everything. The base punk aesthetic was there with his belongings, but instead of the typical mess that came as a “fuck you” to societal norms and expectations was noticeably absent, unlike in Larry’s room. He wondered if it was tied to Sal’s anxiety, if he feared losing something, or whatever it was, or if mess bothered him for other reasons. Travis’ room at home-- at his old house-- was immaculate, but only because he’d be subject to his mother’s anger if it wasn’t. He didn’t have too many belongings to begin with, however.

Travis threw on his clothes from the day before, not having anything else to wear. He watched Sal get dressed, throwing on a pair of black skinny jeans, a dark blue t-shirt, and a white turtleneck, the neck hiding Travis’ supposed “masterpiece.” Sal looked cute no matter what he wore.

Sal began to part his hair: his traditional pigtail look would do for today. As he was doing one up, knocking was heard at the front door. “Could you go get that, babe?” Travis nodded and left to go open the door.

“Travis?” Ash and Maple blurted out in unison, surprised.

Maple broke out into a stupid grin before exclaiming Travis’ name again and excitedly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. “How was your date with Sal!? Where is he, by the by?”

“He’s getting ready. Sal, babe, your friends are here!”

“Out in a minute!”

“As for our date, it went fantastic. Come in, come in.” He ushered the girls in, more focused on Ash as she stood stick straight in the hall, and closed the door behind them. He could tell Maple wanted to hear more. “Sal and I met in the park before we were actually supposed to meet up for our date. Sal was being his usual “I’m thinking, I’m lost in thought” self. I wanted out of the house. Oh! I should tell you that I’ll be staying here for at least the next few days. I’m sick of how my parents treat me.

“Anyway. We met up, talked for a little bit-- Sal’s a very thoughtful person, as I’m sure you already know-- then we went to the cafe we’d said we’d go to. The one Neil works at-- it’s a shame we didn’t get to talk to him, but work’s work--”

As Travis rambled on about his date to Maple, Ash got lost in her thoughts. As happy as she was for them, she couldn’t help but wonder how this affected Sal’s crush on Larry. How did Larry feel about all this? Did he know? She hoped he wasn’t plotting Travis’ death if he did know.

“We went to go see Larry afterwards, which went well--” _‘Oh thank the gods.’_ “--but then Sal and I started making out and he ended up kicking us out. Which is pretty understandable.”

Larry was probably going to kill Travis. Shit. What does she do? “Oh, speaking of Larry, I have to return something to him. I’ll be right back.” Smooth. Ash gets up from the couch and knocks on Sal’s door. “Can I borrow the keycard for the basement?”

“Yeah sure.” She hears shuffling before Sal opens the door and hands it to her. “Maple, can you help me? I can’t get my pigtails to look the way I want to.”

Ashley ignores whatever happens next and practically bolts out of the apartment and into the elevator. She hops from one foot to the other, irritated that the elevator couldn’t get her down to the basement any faster. Once there, Ash pounds loudly on the door with the back of her fist. Larry opens the door, and is pleasantly surprised to see her. “Hey, so, I heard about yesterday. Are you okay?”

Larry pinched his nose. “Ugh, who cares about how I feel. I was acting like an asshole yesterday.”

“Really? That’s not what Travis said. He said everything was going great up until you kicked them out for necking, which he understood why.”

Larry sighed. “I see why Sal likes him so much.”

“So no plotting for his death?”

“No! He makes Sal happy. That’s all that matters. I don’t have _any_ claim to him.”

Ash shifted from one foot to the other, still concerned. “How do you feel about all of this though?”

“I don’t feel great, but I’ll get over it.” Larry rubbed his hands over his face. “Wait, when did you and Travis talk?”

Ash bit her bottom lip. Oh no. “He’s up in Sal’s apartment.”

Larry’s heart sank. “You don’t think… They had-- That they did anything, do you?”

“I couldn’t tell you... Please don’t murder him.”

“I’m not.” Larry exhaled, and she could swear she saw his heart shatter in that moment, probably for the second or third time that weekend.

“I’m sorry.” She didn’t know what else to say.

“Don’t be. Sal’s happy; that’s what’s important.” Larry quietly retreated into his apartment and closed the door on Ashley. She thumped back to the elevator. The only thing she could do now was check up on Sal’s feelings and hope Travis treats him right.

As Ash reentered Sal’s place, she made a beeline for her little blue-hair friend, completely ignoring whatever it was Maple and Travis were laughing about. She hands him back the keycard then silently motions for him to come with her. Sal pecks Travis’ cheek and says that they’ll only take a minute. The two make their way to the fire escape and Sal leans against the railing, lighting up a cigarette before offering one to Ash. She takes one, but sticks it into her pocket; _‘for later,’_ she tells herself. Where the hell does she even start with this?

“What’s the verdict on the ghosts today, Sally Face?” Let him be unassuming.

“I don’t feel anything. They’re here, I keep checking on them, but it’s been so long since I’ve felt _it_.” Sal takes a long drag on his cigarette, and lets the smoke cloud billow from his lips, watching the white wisp be snatched away by the wind. “I haven’t decided whether or not that’s a good thing.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You always do.”

He scoffs, “as if I have a choice.”

She worries her bottom lip. It was true; Sal had no choice regarding his involvement with all the supernatural shit happening. He was practically the only person who could do anything about it. “We’ve got your back, boss,” Ash reaches out and pats his back. “ **Always**.”

“God, what have I told you guys about calling me ‘boss?’” He gave her a halfhearted chuckle. “Is Larry gonna kill my boyfriend or not?” Sal takes another drag.

“Actually, he’s kinda beating himself up for yesterday. Said he was acting like an asshole.” Ash grabs her arm and squeezes.

“Huh. Well. He was acting like a _brat_ , but I wouldn’t say ‘asshole.’ I was being bratty, too, though, so I’d call it even.” He stubbed out his cigarette on the railing. “I feel bad, actually. I took off my mask for Trav just to spite him. I mean, I wanted to anyway, but Larry said something that rubbed me the wrong way.” He cleared his throat, “not an excuse, I know, but… I dunno. I don’t know. I still like him, y’know? I love both him and Travis and I’m feeling a little… Torn? I guess.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” Ash shifted weight from one foot to the other multiple times. “Can I ask a really personal question?”

“Shoot.”

“Did you have sex?”

There was a pause. “Yes.” Beat. “Don’t fucking tell Larry.”

“I won’t.”

Sal huffed and pushed away from the railing. “Is that all?” Ash nodded and followed him as he went back into the hallway and down to the apartment.

Maple stands up from the sofa when the door opens and approaches Sal when he and Ash come in. She clips Sal’s prosthesis on for him, her fingers carefully adjusting it. “We ready to go?” She asks, hooking Sal’s bangs out from under the mask.

“Trav, what are you gonna be doing?” Sal notices that he has Gizmo on his lap, who is purring loudly.

“I think I’ll just hang out with your cat for now; figure out what I’m gonna do from there.” He smiles at his partner, relieving Sal. He trusted him to be fine on his own. This was temporarily his home for now anyway.

“Alright, we’ll be back some time after lunch.” Sal blew a kiss goodbye and left with the girls, Maple on his right and Ash on his left, their arms hooked around each other.

When they had piled into Maple’s car, Sal riding shotgun with Ash behind him, Maple’s stereo came on after starting the car up; Heaven’s to Betsy’s _Complicated_ started playing. “Maple, I swear to god you have the soundtrack to my fucking _life_.”

The ride to Daydream Corner was a long but quiet one. Maple and Ash chatted occasionally, but Sal kept to himself, preferring to listen to the music playing instead. When they arrived at the shop, Sal started to feel… Weird. The hairs on the back of his neck started to prickle, but he couldn’t say he was necessarily feeling bad about the place.

Inside was a lot worse. The energy Sal was getting off of the items the shop was selling was the same feeling he’d get when he was talking to one of the ghosts, but intensified by about a thousand percent. He felt like he was being crushed by a truck, or that his spine was going to shoot out of his skin.

“Okay. Before I pick up ‘the basics,’ I want you to go around and grab whatever sticks out to you. While you do that, I’m gonna grab some books for you.” Maple squeezed Sal’s arm before walking off towards the back of the shop.

Best thing he could do was focus on what gave off the most energy, he supposed. Sal let his legs walk on their own, Ashley close behind him, and he arrived at a wall carrying various threads. Silk; cotton; linen. Waxed and unwaxed. A vast array of colors. They even had linen cord. 2, 4, and 8 ply respectively. Beneath the threads were tools for whatever this was meant to be for: needles; scissors; rotary cutters; thread snips; measuring tape; pins; thimbles; too many items to count.

Baskets were lined up under all the threads and tools, containing an array of items. He assumed these were starter kits for whomever was new to whatever these were for. Sal takes one of the larger baskets, drawn to the light-blue flower pattern on the fabric. Having it with him, for one reason or another, made him feel better.

He lets himself wander again, grabbing a marbled mortar and pestle as he shuffles by, and ends up at a rack of books. He loses himself in one with a colorful geometric pattern on the paper cover, grabbing it and flicking through the empty pages. Maple had told him earlier that, even though he technically already had one, he should keep a book of shadows. Make your own discoveries: magick was very personal.

He went on as he was, both absent and present in his decisions. He ended up with candles, incense, oils, crystals, a pendulum, runes, smudging tools, a cauldron, and other tools he deemed he needed. When he felt like he was finished, he and Ash walked to the back where Maple was standing, picking out books for Sal. She held a small stack under her arm.

“Done?” She questioned without moving her eyes from the shelves.

“I think so?” Sal _felt_ like he got everything he “needed,” but having absolutely no knowledge on witchcraft, he had no idea.

Maple finally looks at Sal, and is taken aback with how much he has. “Holy crap.”

“Too much?” He feels weird. _Weird_.

“No, no, it’s just that whenever I bring someone here they normally only grab one or two things before I have to start helping them out.”

Ash waltzed up to Maple and slung her arm around her shoulders. “You see, Maple, Sal’s a _very special boy_.”

“I see. Well, I _was_ wondering why the sudden interest in magick, other than the paranormal BoS, but I suppose this is only natural for someone with your _sense of intuition_.” Sal looked at her funny. “Are you okay?”

“ _My head’s gonna pop_ ,” Sal replied, far too innocently for Maple’s comfort.

“Um… Okay… Let-- Let’s go pick out an altar for you and I’ll grab some stuff for it and then. Uh. Then we’ll eat and go home.” Before she could lead Sal and Ash away from the books, Sal reached up and grabbed one on string figures. He probably needed it.

On the other side of the store laid an array of little cabinets: some altars, some for storing herbs. As Sal decided which one he wanted, Maple was grabbing things from the shelves running parallel to them.

When all was said and done, they bought everything and left. Almost all of Sal’s belongings went into the trunk, except for the basket with Sal’s threads in them, which he was vehemently adamant about keeping on his person. Maple looked at Ash, an eyebrow raised, hoping she’d get an explanation for Sal’s suddenly strange and cryptic behavior, but was only met with Ash shrugging her shoulders. Maple and Chug, now along with Travis, were kept out of the loop of all the strange happenings-- the cult, demons, and ghosts-- but Maple was well aware of Sal’s incredible insight. She had also caught Sal on more than one occasion having one of his “spells.” She knew _enough_ , but not everything. Sal wanted to keep it that way.

Maple had taken them to a fast-food joint not too far from Daydream Corner. She had convinced Sal to leave his basket in the car, but not without him secretly taking a spool and jamming it into his pocket. He needed to have something on him.

Inside, Ash orders their food up at the counter while Maple and Sal find a booth, leaving them time alone. “What is up with you, Sally? You were acting fine right up until we got to the store,” she questions him once they sit down.

“I don’t know. Once I got in there it felt like my head-- **my whole body** \-- was being crushed, like there was just too much, I dunno, energy or something in there. Being around my new things outside of it feels good though. The threads. I don’t know how to explain that. It’s like I _need_ them.” Sal shook his head slowly, his eyes closed. His response was too genuine for Maple to not take it seriously.

“Just… Don’t get yourself into any trouble, okay?”

“Okay, I won’t,” he fibbed.

Ash arrived with a tray full of their food. Sal didn’t hesitate to rip into his burger, the whole ordeal earlier had left him ravenous. Maple chided him and warned him that he’d choke if he didn’t slow down.

“It’s a futile effort, Maple. You just have to accept that Sal’s food will be completely gone as soon as you blink.” Ash patted her shoulder, giggling. “See! It’s all gone!”

“Look, man, when you have a facial prosthesis you just want to get eating over with.” Sal rolled his eyes as he took a big gulp of his soda.

The three carried on, fooling around to the point where Sal and Ash devolved into kicking each other under the table. “I love my two children,” Maple muttered under her breath, making the other two stop and laugh at her.

They left the restaurant and piled back into Maple’s car. Ash rolls down her window and lights up the cigarette Sal had given her earlier. She felt uneasy; with Sal’s new relationship with Travis, his suddenly strange behavior, and his newfound equipment (if she could even call it that) that would surely push him to dig even deeper into the local cult, she felt like Sal was going to a place he probably shouldn’t be. He could look after himself, he’d proven that again and again, but even _he_ had to have his limits. Right? Right. Where does she draw the line? Can she even draw a line?

The girls help Sal bring his stuff up to his apartment and set his new altar in the corner of his room by his desk. “Maple, while I’m putting my things in here, could you go look for Travis? I didn’t see him on the way in.” Sal is sitting on his knees in front of the cabinet doors, the plastic bags beside him.

“Sure.” She hears a “thank you” behind her as she leaves the room. “Travis? Traaaaviiis?” She doesn’t see him anywhere. She knocks on Henry’s door before tentatively opening it and poking her head in. Empty. She repeats with the bathroom, garnering the same result. She returns to Sal’s room, shrugging her shoulders. “He must have gone out.”

“Ah. That’s fine.” Sal is absorbed in the basket, his fingers lingering on the tools. He closes it and gently places it on the bottom shelf. Ash is across the room putting his books away for him.

“I’m sure he’ll be home soon, Sally.” Maple takes a seat on the bed, Sal’s mask staring at her from the bedpost, eye sockets empty. She only found it eerie when Sal wasn’t wearing it. She moves it so it isn’t looking at her anymore.

When Sal is finished with his things and closes the altar doors, Ashley stands and stretches. “Maple and I should probably get going, lest you be stuck with us all day.”

The three hugged and Sal walked them out of the apartment, saying their goodbye’s to each other as he did so. Sal turned back to his empty home, Gizmo on the couch watching some action show on the TV. He sighed. “Guess it’s just you and me, buddy.”

He set to work cleaning up the apartment, since no one was around to bother him. He threw away what trash he could find (his father had a bit of a sweet tooth, so there was always at least one candy wrapper on his desk) and put away whatever was left out. He pulled out the vacuum from the closet, causing Gizmo to flee to the bedroom. The monotony of the task allowed Sal’s mind to wander. He wondered where Travis had gone and when he was coming back. Where would he even be able to go now anyway?

Was he even going to come back at all?

Sal shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that at the moment. _‘Just finish cleaning,’_ he told himself.

When he was done vacuuming and had thoroughly scared his cat, he set to work scrubbing down the bathroom. As much as he hated it, it needed to be done. It wasn’t as gross as he anticipated though. Gizmo used the cat-box as soon as Sal changed his litter, which annoyed him. “Ya couldn’t’ve gone before?”

Sal left the bathroom and went to the closet to put the cleaners away. As he was reaching up to shelve them, the front door opened. Travis walked in, two luggage cases behind him, and he had his backpack and a gym bag slung over his shoulder. Sal all but tackled him after he shut the door, eagerly kissing him. He dropped his things and pulled Sal’s body against his. “Miss me?”

“Yeah.” Sal buried his face into Travis’ neck and hummed. “Where’d you go?”

“Back to the house to get my shit. I knew no one would be home.”

Sal pulled back from him and looked at his stuff. “Is that all you have?”

“Yeah. I don’t own a whole lot.”

Sal threw Travis’ school and gym bags over his shoulder and left for his room, Travis following suit with his luggage. Sal set Trav’s school bag with his own before tossing the gym bag onto his bed. He opened it and found it to have dirty laundry in it. “Adding to my chores, are you, Trav?” He faced him and put his hands on his hips, pretending to chide him.

“You don’t have to do my laundry, babe.”

“Oh, it’s fine. For now, you’re a part of the family, so it’s whatever.” He leans up and pecks Travis’ cheek before taking the bag into the bathroom and dumping its contents into the laundry hamper. He comes back to his bedroom to help his boyfriend put his clothes away. It takes some time, and some resorting, but they eventually fit his clothes in Sal’s dresser and closet. They lace their fingers together and Sal leans against the taller man, rubbing his bicep with his free hand.

“I like seeing our stuff together. It just, like, makes me happy.” Travis kisses the top of Sal’s head.

“I know what you mean. I like it, too.” Sal lets go of his hand and makes his way to the door. “Well. You put the rest of your stuff away and I’ll go start dinner.” Sal left and made his way to the kitchen, plucking out a cookbook from the little rack kept on the counter. He flipped through it, setting it open on the countertop. He went searching for some of the ingredients in the fridge, but was left empty-handed. “Goddammit,” he mumbled.

“What?” Travis watched Sal jump. “Sorry, babe.”

“It’s fine,” he pressed a hand to his chest. “I wanted to make stew but I’m out of some of the vegetables I need. I knew I needed to get groceries but I thought it’d be fine to wait until later. Guess not.” He sighed and leaned against the counter. “Now I have to wait for dad to get home so I can borrow the car. Who knows when that’ll be, though.”

“Just take my truck.”

Sal blinked. “What?”

Travis jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a key. “Take my truck.”

“You’re a life saver.” He took the key from him and kissed his cheek.

“That was a little dramatic,” Travis snorted. “Anything you need done while you’re gone?”

“Uh… The garbage needs to be taken to the bin outside and the laundry needs to be done. You don’t need to do that--”

“I want to. If I’m gonna be living here, I may as well pitch in.”

“Alright, alright. The basket we use to bring the clothes down is in the hall closet. The detergent and fabric softener are inside it. Hamper’s in the bathroom; dump everything in the basket.”

“Okay. My truck’s the huge red one. You can’t miss it.” Travis nuzzled Sal’s nose with his own. “See you in a bit.”

 

 

Larry had moped in his room all day. He felt like an absolute dirtbag. On the one hand, he felt bad about yesterday: he should have treated Travis better. On the other hand, _he_ wanted to be the one wrapping his arm around Sal and macking on him. Sal wasn’t an object to be won, but goddamn did he want him.

He rolled off of his bed and stretched. He should at least apologize to Sal, talk to him. Travis was most definitely gone, since Sal had gone out with Ash and Maple. Larry looked at his clock: it was half-past four. Sal should’ve been back from his romp by now. He took a deep breath and left his room, making his way to the front door. His stomach jumped into his throat when he opened it and saw Travis by the washer and dryer. He looked up and waved at Larry. No going back now.

“Uh, hi, Travis...” Larry jammed his hands into his pockets as he approached.

“Hello.” Travis was pulling clothes from the washer and putting them into the dryer.

“What the hell’re ya doin’ Sal’s laundry for?”

“I’m doing our laundry because I’m staying with Sal for the next little while. It’s only fair that I help out.”

Larry didn’t like how casually Travis said “our laundry” like it was no big deal. His jaw clenched reflexively.

“Are you okay?”

“You know what, Travis? No, I’m fucking not. I _hate_ that you’re dating Sal! You don’t fucking deserve him!” His face was starting to turn red.

“Look, Larry,” Travis shut the dryer door and turned it on,” I haven’t forgiven myself for how I’ve treated Sal, I probably never will, but we won’t get anywhere if we don’t just fucking move on.”

“This has nothing to do with that!” Larry blurted out, not even thinking.

Travis knitted his brows together. What the hell did he mean by _that_? When he realized what, he couldn't help but start snickering.

“What’s so fucking funny? I’m _this_ close to knocking your lights out.”

“You’re in love with my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

The question pierced right through Larry, leaving him feeling as if all the air got sucked out of his lungs. “N-no!”

The stupid grin on Travis’ face only got bigger. “You’re in love with my boyfriend!”

Larry started to panic. It wouldn’t be so bad if he wasn’t so on the fucking nose with it. “Now see here--”

“Go for it.”

“Wuh?” Larry staggered. “What did you just say?” He asks, very slowly, tentatively. He almost doesn’t want the answer. Almost.

“I said, go for it. I don’t mind sharing.” Travis picks up the basket, holding it underneath his arm on his hip. “Doesn’t hurt that you’re pretty attractive yourself.” He walked towards the elevator and called it down. “Oh, and don’t worry about yesterday. I get panicking and wanting to stop your friend’s languid making out before it escalated.” The elevator dinged and he entered. “And, boy, did it escalate.” Travis winked at the other man as the doors closed.

Larry swayed on his feet. “You _motherfucker_!” His heart did flips in his chest. He’d be lying if he said that didn’t make him the least bit horny. He felt like he just did a backflip, but instead of sticking the landing, he cracked his head off the floor.

He definitely wasn’t seeing Sal tonight.


	12. Tripping Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If you ever touch him, come _near_ Travis again, _I will break every fucking bone in your body_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Time for some Larry shit. Gotta love him.  
> If you missed it, I made a Tumblr! Come bug me. lollipopdollie.tumblr.com  
> Thanks for reading! Smut to come next chapter.  
> There are slurs and other shit in this chapter, so be safe.

Larry had spent the entire evening and a good chunk of the night pacing around his room. He was _conflicted_. He liked Sal, loved him. But he was taken. _But_ he was just given permission by his boyfriend to date him still. That would mean having to deal with Travis on at least good platonic terms. _‘Or romantic.’_

“No! I hate Travis! I think.” Larry flopped onto his bed, dizzy from his own swirling thoughts. “I’m holdin’ onto a grudge. He’s changed a lot but I’m still actin’ like he’s the same ole shithead Sal had to deal with ‘bout a year ago.” He heaved, stretching out his arms on the bed, his feet still on the floor.

“Wait… Did he say that I was attractive?” There was a long pause before Larry started to groan. Said groan quickly turned into a scream.

It was a long night.

Larry got up late the next morning, only getting up after his mother came into his room and ripped the blankets off of him. He had a small breakfast, quickly jamming a PB&J sandwich into his mouth as he pulled on his clothes. Would Sal be waiting for him? He didn’t want to find out, but if he was then Larry didn’t want to keep him waiting.

After brushing his teeth and tossing on his backpack, he rushed out of the apartment and up to the first floor, taking the stairs two at a time. As he went up, he could hear conversation.

“I hope you’re prepared for our tests today, Sally Face.”

“ _Ugh_ , I’m prepared to _die_ , if that’s what you mean. God, they’re, like, what? Before lunch and before school ends? It was nice knowin’ ya, Todd.”

“We’ll be mentally exhausted at worse. Don’t be over dramatic. Oh, hello, Larry.”

Larry had approached the group, Sal’s back to him. Sal shrieked; “how many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me!?”

Larry scratched at the back of his head. “Sorry, li’l dude. I don’t do it on purpose.”

“Man, you’ve got a _lion’s mane_ going today, huh, Larry?” Travis flashes him a toothy grin before taking some of it in between his index and middle fingers. He notes how soft and slick it feels.

Larry grimaced, pulling away from him slightly. “Well, I woke up late n’ had ta hurry.”

“I didn’t say I was complaining; I kinda like it, actually.” The coy motherfucker.

Sal looked from Travis to Larry then back, noticing the blush coloring itself in on Larry’s cheeks. “What the hell? Are you _flirting_?”

Travis shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.” Larry was about to fucking **burst**.

Todd smiled before saying the best and dumbest thing he’s ever said. “Love triangle~! _Just what the gay agenda has been trying to achieve_.”

“Shut your face, Todd.” Sal jabbed his side with his finger, then pointed said finger towards Larry. “I don’ know wha’chu did, but he’s _my man_ , capiche? Get’cha own!” He let out a snort. His little show was meant entirely in jest, but he wasn’t sure if Larry caught on. His face was contorted, red as wine.

“Aw, we can’t share?” Travis nudged Sal’s arm with his elbow. “I got a teeny tiny boyfriend, why can’t I also have a big hunky one?”

Larry was about to explode. This was a nightmare. A terrible, horrible, sexy nightmare. Sexy? No no no. “Uh, we should be leaving for school right about now huh guys? Where’s Chug?”

“Sick.”

“ **So we’re good to leave!** **L** **et’s go!** ”

Travis pulled out his key and shook it. “We’re taking the truck.”

“Okay! Let’s! Get! Going! Now! Please!?” Larry couldn’t take much more torture. He started ushering his friends out of the side doors to the parking lot, Todd giggling at him the entire time. Oh how events were unfolding.

The morning was pure agony for Larry up until after first period. After that there was no Sal, Travis, nor Todd (who seemed to enjoy this the most out of everybody). He could focus on his work, bury himself in it-- which he rarely ever does, unless it’s art class-- just so he didn’t have to think about Sally or Travis. Sal and his big, cyan eyes that stared up at him. Porcelain against tawny skin.

Fuck!

The lunch bell rang, and he’d surely have to face the music now. As he left his class, he felt a firm arm drag him off into the boys’ bathroom. Todd leaned against the sink counter, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. “So…” He started, waiting for Larry to finish his sentence.

“If your programming flops, you could be an assassin.” Larry has an idea of what Todd wants to talk about, and he’s not ready for this.

Todd hangs his head and chuckles. “Nice try, Larry, but you’re not derailing the conversation that quickly.” He can see Larry tense up. “I guess I was too subtle in trying to hook you and Sal up. What happened between you and Travis is my question though.”

“Wuh?”

Todd feels himself die on the inside. “Larry. Please tell me you’re not this stupid.”

“ _Wuh_?” Larry repeats, stupefied.

Todd brings his hands, clasped together, up to his mouth. His eyes flutter shut as he inhales. “You like Sal. Sal likes you. I’ve been trying to get you two to date since the summer! Oh my god! Why do you think I’ve been trying to encourage you to have ‘quality alone time’!?”

Larry blinks, mouth opening and closing several times. “Sal likes me?” He points a finger at himself, as if he can’t believe it. “Me?”

“Yes!” Todd throws his arms out as he shrieks. He looks like a weird bird to Larry. “Now tell me what happened between you and Travis.”

“Uh, well… I ran into Travis yesterday n’… He figured out that I’ve got a thing for Sal. He told me that he didn’t mind sharing Sal with me. He also told me that I looked good! I’m all messed up now!”

“Okay. Are you going to date Sal now?” Todd asked that way too nonchalantly.

“Well, I mean… I wouldn’t mind it… But if Sal doesn’t want to, then, well, I’m outta luck.” He scratched at the back of his head. “Please don’t say anything. I’m embarrassed enough as is.”

Todd placed one hand over his chest, the other palm up by his head. “Your not-secret is safe with me. On one condition: you confess to Sal by the end of the year. Lest I tell him myself.”

“What!? You can’t do that!”

“Yes I can. You know me well enough to know that I’m willing to extort my friends for _their_ personal gain.”

“I hate you,” Larry groaned as he followed Todd out of the bathroom and to the cafeteria, weaving around students as they did so. Todd took to his usual spot. Ash sat in Chug’s spot, forcing Larry to sit on the other side of the table, right next to Travis. If there was a higher being out there, they were really enjoying toying with him today.

“Where were you?” Ash asks, pointing her fork at Todd.

“I needed a pee buddy.” Todd pulls out his food from his lunch bag. Since the bologna incident he, Ash, Larry, and Sal stopped buying lunch at school.

Travis’ face scrunched up. “I’m sorry?”

“It means ‘private convo in the bathroom, fuck off.’ It’s just easy to say.” Ash stabs her mac salad and shovels it into her mouth.

“Is Sal dead?” Larry reaches over and Maple retracts her hand so he can pet him. His forehead is pressed on the tabletop.

“I hate AP Physics! Why did I take it!?”

“You enjoy it when we’re not doing a thirty page test. Besides, regular physics is too effortless for you. You would be sick and tired of it within the first week. There’s also the college credit tied to it.” Todd pushes a banana towards Sal. “Be gross with this; it’ll make you feel better.”

“You’re winning an award for ‘#1 Friend’ today,” Larry blabbed out as he watched Sal lift up his head, take and peel the banana, and lift his prosthetic up just enough so you could see his mouth. In went the banana, sliding, whole, past his lips and over his tongue. Larry and Travis seized up and flushed. Why did he have to deep-throat it?

Sal slid his mask back down. “That made me feel marginally better.” He started to pick at his own food, which was better than him bemoaning his classwork.

After a couple of minutes passed, Ash addressed Travis; “I keep forgetting to ask. Why were you pulled out of class earlier?”

“My father came to the school looking for me.”

“Ugh. He can’t do anything though, right?” Ash pushed her Jell-O to Sal as his pawing at it was beginning to annoy her.

“No. I’m 18, I’m an adult. If I leave home and get my own place, whoop-de-doo for him.”

“What about your truck?”

“In my name and my name only. They can’t get me for vehicle theft. They’ll try something though. Father tailed Sal back to the apartment complex yesterday after he bought our groceries.”

“What!?” Larry slammed his hands down onto the table, scaring the crap out of Maple. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to do that.” He desperately reached out for her hands. “I will seriously commit murder though.” His head is turned to Travis and Sal, his body stretched across the table. He looks dumb.

“I’m not super worried about it. It’s not worth it to do anything drastic.”

They finished eating and messed around some more before the bell rang, signifying that lunch was over. Larry felt good, but now that he wasn’t trying to avoid thoughts of Sal and Travis like the plague, he didn’t want to be in his classes anymore. Back to wishing for death and not doing his work.

His last class is Art. He works up until the bell, leaving him to clean up his tools and put away his things well after most people have grabbed their shit and gone home. He hurries down the halls to get to his locker: his friends were probably waiting for him.

He catches the end of something that makes him bristle; “of course the spic likes dickgirls.” Larry sees the guy slam his hand into the lockers above Sal’s head, the blue-haired male flinching. “If he wasn’t a gross shemale, then he could’a hung with us. But then he’s a faggot a’top’all that.” He chuckles to himself. “Two fags. One a beaner, the other a hermie.”

Travis snaps and grabs his wrist, twisting his arm behind his back and pushing him front-first against the lockers. “Listen. You can call me whatever disgusting things you like, but if you _ever_ hurt my boyfriend… Well, it’d be a real shame if you couldn’t use your throwing arm, huh?” His hand begins to redden under Travis’ grip, the veins starting to pop. He’s unable to wiggle his way out.

“Honey… Let him go, please.” Sal is clearly uncomfortable and upset, but violence solves nothing. Travis acquiesces, but not without twisting his arm some more, earning a pained grunt. The bastard runs off, shouting obscenities. Travis runs a hand over his face, disgruntled.

Larry comes up from behind and places a hand on Travis’ shoulder, feeling his muscles tense underneath. “You alright?”

“We’re fine. Just some bigoted bullshit.” Sal runs a hand down Travis’ arm and takes his hand.

They hear heavy thuds coming down the hall. Todd is rushing to get to them. “Sorry I kept you waiting,” he heaves out. “Nothing happened while-- Never mind.” He sees the look on their faces and decides it’s best to just move on. “Let’s go?”

Travis starts walking, not saying anything. He feels gross. _He_ used to be like that. _He_ used to be the bigoted asshole who’d pick on people. He hates the feeling. Being on the receiving end of that after realizing what a piece of shit he was stung on a whole new level.

As they’re making their way to the truck, they hear Travis’ name get called out. They turn to see Mr. Phelps. Travis just could _not_ catch a break today. “Get in the truck, guys. I’ll be in in a minute.” Mr. Phelps advanced toward the quartet. Sal didn’t hesitate to jump into the truck. He was completely done for the day. Todd soon followed suit. Larry hesitated. Something told him to stand his ground.

“How could you do this to your mother and I? To live and act so disobediently, so sinfully! We do out best for you and _this_ is how you repay us?” Mr. Phelps has a barking, booming voice. It makes Larry’s skin crawl.

“Travis, get in the truck.” Larry is immediately behind him, a hand on his shoulder guiding him back.

“Larry, it’s fi--”

“ _Now_.” Larry holds firm. Travis realizes that he wouldn’t win this argument and gets into the truck, staring the engine. “You motherfucker! How could you say that you’re ‘only doing your best’ when you _beat and berate_ him!? You’re abusive as shit, course he left! You’re an idiot for expecting anything else.”

“Your ilk will burn in Hell for your sins.”

“Well, guess we’ll see each other down there.” That struck a nerve, watching Mr. Phelps face contort. “If you ever touch him, come _near_ Travis again, _I will break every fucking bone in your body_.” Larry turns on his heel and begins to make his way around the truck to get into the passenger’s seat.

“Was that a _threat_?”

“It was a fucking _promise_.” He opened the door and slammed it shut, throwing on his seat belt. “We’re good to go!” He flashes Travis the biggest, toothiest smile he could manage. Travis doesn’t hesitate to floor the gas, getting away from the school as fast as possible. The ride home is silent and disconcerting.

The quartet piles out of the truck as soon as Travis parks it. Todd heads into the foyer to get into the elevator to go to his apartment. Sal and Travis follow Larry to his room in the basement, the two collapsing onto his bed as soon as they get in. Sal unclasps his prosthesis from him and sets it on the nightstand. The two men curl in on each other.

“Fuck today,” Sal grumbles, brushing his hair from his face.

“You can say that again.” Travis pulls Sal’s face to his chest, cradling him, more for his own comfort than anything else.

Larry doesn’t know what to do. He thinks for a moment before laying down on the bed, his chest to Travis’ back, one arm draped over him and Sal, the other curled under Larry’s head. “How’re ya feelin’?”

“I’m used to the bullshit with my father. I even expected him to do that, if not today then soon. It’s just...” His voice caught in his throat and his breath hitched. “I used to be like that prick. I used to be that insufferable. If you caught me a year ago, I’d be the exact same as him.”

Larry moved to place his hand on Travis’ shoulder, rubbing soft circles into him “You _used to be_ like that. But you’re not anymore. It’s best to move on.”

“Fuck you for using my words against me!” Travis elbowed Larry in the gut, his lips split in a grin. That was first time he smiled since the morning.

“Yeah! How _dare_ you, Larry!?” Sal reached over Travis to pinch his side, joining in on the fun.

“How dare I? How _dare_ I!?” Larry shot up and planted a hand on either side of Travis and Sal, straddling them together. “ _This_ is what I dare!” His mane draped over them, and Travis took note of the gap in his front teeth as he beamed at them. It was cute.

Larry finally got a good look at Travis, now that he was practically towering over him. His features were sharp yet not exactly masculine. Not exactly feminine either. His eyes were a deep midnight blue, lined with long, black eyelashes. He was actually pretty attractive.

“Larry Face? Are you just gonna stare at us?” Sal swatted at the arm by him.

“Oh. Uh. Sorry.” Larry moved back and sat on his legs, face flushed.

Sal giggled and pressed his foot against Larry’s stomach. “Just tripping through life, eh Larry?”

“Oh fuck you! Like you aren’t!”

Sal sat up, grabbing Travis’ hand, forcing him up. The three sat in a circle, Sal holding Travis’ and Larry’s hands. “You’re right. So… Let’s trip through life together.”

“Yeah.” Travis’ face lit up and he grabbed Larry’s hand. “Yeah!”

“Let’s trip through life together.”


	13. Upgrade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things take a turn for the best.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended to get this out two days ago, but then it turned out much longer than I had originally planned. Prepare for some smut at the end.  
> Thanks for reading! My Tumblr: lollipopdollie.tumblr.com

“He’ll only be here for a few days,” Sal had said earlier in the month, coming up on two weeks ago. However, Sal and Travis never really thought their situation through. Travis had nowhere to go, the only family he could sensibly rely on residing outside of the country, nor did he have a steady stream of income to keep himself afloat.

Regardless of the complications of the situation, Travis had been a big help around the apartment. Sal finally had another set of hands to help him do chores, which improved his mood and health, allowing Sal time to focus on other work (like school-- although he was already rivaling Todd for valedictorian, so he obviously didn’t need the help there) or gave him more time to himself. Travis also took care of the apartment when both Sal and Henry were working, which meant no one had to scramble last minute to make food and then leave more things to do the next day (like leftover dishes). Henry appreciated him immensely.

Within that time, Travis and Larry began to bond. It all started when Travis walked into his room one weekend, pointed at his console and TV, and said “I wanna try.” Larry threw on a platformer for him and they sat together in his beanbag. In a few minutes, Travis had become completely absorbed in it, enamored. Larry felt a pang in his chest watching Travis enjoy himself and lament that he’d never gotten to play any video games before then, but had been caught off guard when Travis had said “but at least I got to experience this with you.” As the day progressed on, Travis had moved more into Larry’s lap; Larry was a large person and trying to share the beanbag with him was pretty hard unless you straddled him. Sal came down that evening to find Travis with his forehead resting on Larry’s neck, his hands buried in the brunet’s unruly mane.

Lisa loved coming home from a long, monotonous work day to see Sal, Travis, and Larry sitting together on her son’s bed, with at least one of them doubled over with laughter. Or when she’d come home on occasion to Sal and Travis having cooked dinner with Larry in her apartment, normally stating something along the lines of “Henry’s working late so we thought we could eat together down here.” Having two thoughtful and considerate people so close to her son warmed her heart.

What tipped Henry’s decision was when Travis vigorously worked himself so that the apartment was perfect for Sal when he had to go to therapy one day, so he could be a puddle of emotional-exhaustion-incarnate and not have to worry about anything. Henry had always _tried_ to do that himself, but he either messed something up and stressed Sal out more, or work would prevent him from being able to get what he wanted done. Henry didn’t exactly know how to help Sal emotionally either, so when Travis swooped Sal up in his arms as soon as he got home from seeing his therapist and brought him to the couch for food and some movies, Henry couldn’t help but thank some higher deity for helping his poor son. Instead of Sal being completely fatigued for a few days, he was more or less back to himself by the evening.

This all culminated in Henry making his way down to the basement on his lunch break after talking to Terrence. He knocked on the door to B1 and was greeted by “door’s open!” which was clearly Travis’ voice. There was a teacher in-service at the school, so the boys were home today. Henry opened up the door to find Larry and Travis in the kitchen baking. Travis wanted to make “thank you” cupcakes for Henry and Lisa.

“Hi, Henry!” Travis wiped his hands on his apron. He walked up to meet Henry as he came into the kitchen, his back to Larry. Travis pressed his lips into a flat line before asking, “he’s stealing icing, isn’t he?” He heard stifled giggling behind him. “You know, Larry, the key to sneaking something is to _not_ give yourself away.” He turned his head to look behind him, seeing Larry with a spoon in his mouth, his lips in a smirk around it.

“I’m taste testing.”

Travis rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, Henry. What did you come here for?”

Henry grinned. “I’d like Sal to be here for it, but I have something for you. Where is he?”

“He’s outside with Ash and Todd.” Travis peels off his apron and rests it on a dining chair as the three men make their way out of the apartment and up the stairs outside.

They’re not even outside for ten seconds before Ashley screeches “SAL! CATCH!” and whiffs a giant exercise ball at him. She expects him to either catch it or the ball to simply bounce off of him. The ball instead completely bowls him over, and he falls flat on his face like a limp fish. Ash’s jaw drops and she covers her mouth with her hands. “I’m so sorry!”

“You just fucking _ended_ him!” Larry howled, his hands on his head.

Before anyone can react to what just happened fully, Todd runs up behind Ash and knocks her into a pile of leaves, burying her. He then stands over Sal. “ _I am now boss_.”

Henry is pissing himself with laughter as Travis jogs up to Sal’s body, cooing nonsense. He crouches down and picks him up, pushing Todd away.

“I’m okay, babe. Just a little jostled.”

“Dammit! I thought I’d get to be the new leader.”

“Over my dead body!” Ash screams from the leaf pile.

“But you _are_ dead!” is all Todd can get out before Ash leaps from the pile and bum rushes him, knocking him to the ground. Ash sits on his chest and starts lightly slapping his face. “Your attempts at vanquishing me are futile! You’ll never get through my _gay_ rriers, wench!”

“Chip damage will take it’s toll eventually, Toddin Boy.”

While this is happening, Henry and Larry are barreled over each other, absolutely losing it. Travis helps Sal to his feet and leads him over to the duo. “Oh, Sal, I love your friends,” Henry says between gasps of air.

“Oh good, at least someone does, ‘cuz I don’t.” Sal shakes his head and chuckles.

“Fuck you!” Todd points his finger at Sal before being slapped harder by Ash.

“No! Fuck _me_!” Ash smacks her hand to her chest.

“But I am a _homosexual_!” Todd gives a guttural pterodactyl screech as Ash lightly wrapped her fingers around his throat and leaned down towards his face, pressing their foreheads together.

“ _You’re gonna die, gremlin_ ,” she whispered.

“Do you think if we had kids they’d turn out like that?” Sal takes Travis’ hand in his.

“Yeah, probably.”

“I don’t want kids then.”

Travis rolls his eyes while Henry and Larry finish off the last of their fit. “Henry,” he addresses, “what did you have for me?”

“Oh, right! Close your eyes.” Travis did so and Henry reached into his pocket, pulling out a key and dropping it into them.

“Oh? Oh! A key! I don’t have to worry about locking myself out anymore.” Travis stuffed it into his jean pocket. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to give it back once I’m out of your hair, which I’m hoping is fairly soon--”

“No, Travis, I gave this to you to tell you that you can _stay_ with us. You’ve been a big help to Sal, and you’re good company.”

Sal _squealed_ at the news, giving zero hesitation in hugging Travis. “My big man gets to stay! Oooooh, thank you, dad! Thank you, thank you!”

Travis blinked. He finally had a _home_ now. “I gotta go finish those cupcakes!” Travis pulled Sal off of him and rushed inside.

“You’re welcome!” Henry called after him as Sal tackled him. “Alright, bud, I gotta head back to work. We’ll celebrate later.”

Sal let go and waved as his father walked off towards the parking lot. Larry tapped his shoulder. “What about those two?” He pointed his finger towards Todd and Ash, the former had the latter draped across his shoulders. Ash was screaming bloody murder.

Sal cupped his hands around his mouth. “Hey guys! I’m going inside!”

The two stopped dead in their tracks. “Okay,” they shouted back in unison before Todd returned to swinging Ash around like a doll.

Larry chuckled at the two and placed his hand between Sal’s shoulders and lead him back inside and down into his apartment. Travis was just finishing up pouring the mix into a muffin pan. Larry took the bowl after Travis was done with it, putting the pan into the oven, and started licking it.

“Dammit, Larry.” Travis placed his hands on his hips, raising an eyebrow. Larry lowered the bowl and smiled sheepishly. He had some mix on the side of his mouth, and the gap in his teeth was too cute for Travis. He couldn’t help himself. He pushed himself up using Larry’s shoulders and kissed the batter off of him, his tongue pressing into the corner of his mouth. Larry’s face flushed a deep red.

“Whoa, Travis.” Sal walked up to the other two, smirking, and smacked Travis’ ass. “You’re such a horndog.”

Travis let out a breathy giggle and cleared his throat. “He’s hot.”

That did it. Larry lifted Travis over one shoulder and Sally over the other and carried them to his room. Sal squirmed under his grip, but Travis had accepted his fate. They were about to get fucked by a big beefy man.

Larry dropped them onto his bed and pressed them together, straddling them and confining them. “You both seem to love to tease me.”

“Lar Bear, it’s because it’s so easy--” Sal was cut off by his prosthetic being knocked askew and lips mashing into his. He readily reciprocated, twinning his arms behind Larry’s neck and parting his lips for him. Larry slipped his tongue into Sal’s mouth, earning a moan that made something burn in his gut. Sal’s mouth was so soft and warm, Larry just wanted more, he wanted to get as much as he possibly could.

The mood died when they heard the front door open and close. “Boys, I’m back!”

Larry quickly pulled himself off the bed and smoothed out his clothes, popping his head out of the door. “Hey, mom.”

“Hey, kiddo. Are Sal and Travis still here?”

“Yeah, they’re sitting on my bed.”

As if on cue, Travis launched himself off the bed and scrambled past Larry. “Hi Lisa. Henry has told me that I’m officially stuck with him now.”

“You’re staying? That’s wonderful news.” Lisa clapped her hands together. “You’re so good for Sal. I haven’t seen him so excited to have someone around since he moved here.”

“Aw, well, I only want to be a good boyfriend.” Travis picked at his ear, Sal and Larry coming up behind him.

“You _are_ a good boyfriend, honey.” Sal leaned up, pushed his mask up, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m just the side ho.” Larry leaned himself on Travis’ shoulder, his other hand on his chest.

“Lisa, I hope you know how much of a flirt your son is.” Travis pinched Larry’s arm, Sal giggling next to him.

“A flirt, you say? What is going on between you three?” Lisa smiled at them and crossed her arms.

“Ah… We’re in a weird gray area right now, Ma. We’ll tell ya when we figure it out.” That was the most honest with himself Larry has been for the past four months.

“Well, alright then. What happened while I was gone?”

“Ash murdered me with an exercise ball, then Todd murdered Ash. _Then_ Ash rose from the dead to beat up Todd.” Sal went to sit on the couch, readjusting his mask on his face. Lisa’s face twisted up in confusion. Sal’s friends were too much sometimes.

As if they were summoned, Todd opened the door, almost slamming it against the wall, with Ash piggy-backing him. They were very loudly and obnoxiously singing _Take On Me_. Todd danced his way over to Sal and dropped down on one knee, their singing turning into serenading, until the chorus was cut off by Ash falling off of Todd and choking him in the process. They were both red-faced, rolling around on the floor losing their shit.

“What the fuck? Did you guys get _high_ when I wasn’t looking?” Sal’s brows were knitted together.

Todd wiped at his mouth, still giggling. “No, but that would have been a fantastic excuse for our behavior.”

Sal shook his head and huffed. “What’ll I ever do with you two?”

“Sal, we all play Keep Away with you. Is this really the strangest we’ve behaved?” Ash brushed her hair from her face and took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

“Keep Away?” Travis asked.

Todd and Ash slowly stood up and looked at him with blank expressions. “You’ll soon see,” they spoke in unison.

Travis blinked a couple of times, his face almost in a grimace. “Well, that was needlessly ominous. And mildly terrifying.”

Lisa had her hand over her face, as did Sal. Larry pulled Travis closer to his body. “Once you accept that they’re on a whole ‘nother level, it gets easier.”

Travis left for the kitchen to check on the cupcakes. He took the cake tester and opened the oven, sticking it into each cupcake. They were done. He threw on oven mitts and pulled the tray out, setting it onto the counter.

“CUPPINCAKES!” Ash sprinted into the kitchen and hovered around Travis.

“Not for you!”

“Yes for me!”

“No! They’re ‘thank you’ cupcakes for Lisa and Henry. I only made eight, so there’s four each. _Not for you_.”

“But they’re biggin boys. Can’t I have one?”

_Blink._ “What the fuck, Ashley? I know I made muffin-sized cupcakes but that doesn’t mean you get to be weird about it.” He shooed her away from the kitchen, Ash growling in protest. “I’ll make you cupcakes another time.”

“Okay. Deal.”

After messing around some more, Todd and Ash left, leaving Travis to his own devices in the kitchen and Sal, Larry, and Lisa gathered by the TV. Lisa is sitting in a chair by the sofa, while Larry and Sally are curled up together on said sofa. Sal felt warm and comfortable under Larry’s arm, his head resting on his chest. He could hear his heartbeat, calm and steady, lulling him to sleep. “I wonder if all those foam dodgeballs are still out in the lawn or if Ash and Todd picked them up.”

“They probably left ‘em. Wait, wuh?”

“Todd stole Ash’s thing of dodgeballs, remember?”

“When did that happen?”

“Like, two years ago. He broke into my home and woke me up by biffing them at me.” Sal sat up with a groan, groggy. “And they were throwing them at me outside.” He got up and went into Larry’s room, leaving through the stairwell there.

There were dodgeballs _everywhere_.

Sal spent the next half hour picking them up and putting them into the netted bag they came in. He put them in the hallway corner by the Johnson apartment, leaving the exercise ball underneath the treehouse; it was too big to put anywhere else. Sal reentered the apartment, finding Travis resting against Larry like he was previous. Sal took his spot on the other side of Larry, Travis reaching out to entwine their fingers together across the brunet’s abdomen.

“Murder me,” Sal mumbled, completely exhausted.

“Shh, the goblins might hear you.” Lisa looked up from her book, making direct eye contact with the blue-haired boy. “I don’t want them back in my home.”

“Yeah, hindsight’s 20/20. I love them, but I very much question why.” Sal yawned as he spoke, drawing out the “why.”

“Since I’ve met ‘em, I’m afraid I’ll see ‘em starin’ back at me if I walk into some fog.” Larry readjusted his hand so it rested on the back of Sal’s neck, and started to rub him there. “I had a dream like that once. For awhile I thought it was real.”

Larry prattled on about the details of his dream, but Sal quickly stopped paying attention. He was too tired from the day; he just wanted to sleep. He started to nod off, his lids too heavy to keep open. It’d be a few hours before his dad got off work; this was fine for him to do.

Sal felt someone shake him gently, and groggily opened up his eyes. He blinked the sleep out of his eye as Larry planted a smooch to his crown. He was still laying on him, his head against Larry’s shoulder. “Your dad’s here.” He pointed to the kitchen, where Henry was stuffing one of Travis’ cupcakes into his gob. “That’s his third one.”

“Daaaaad, you’re on your _third_ cupcake? You haven’t even had dinner yet. And you get after me for eating too much candy.” Sal whined and stretched out his arms.

“Well, you get your sweet tooth from somebody, hypocrite.”

“You’re a hypocrite!”

“Well, you get your _hypocrisy_ from somebody.”

Sal shook his head and laughed, getting off the sofa. “You’re somethin’ else, dad.” He walked over to him and hugged him. “Thanks again for letting Travis stay with us.”

“I should be the one thanking _him_ for helping you so much.”

“I made those cupcakes to say ‘thank you;’ don’t you and Lisa start an appreciation train, or paradox, or something.” Travis wagged his finger at Henry, tut-tutting him. He then smiled and decided to speak right from the heart. “Thank you both, so much, for being so welcoming and hospitable, and for giving me a place where I actually feel safe. I’ve never really felt like I truly belonged anywhere, or had a happy home. I have that now. With Sal. And maybe shit-for-brains over there if he’s interested.” He jabbed his thumb towards where Larry was sprawled out on the sofa.

“Love you, too!” Larry cooed, waving his arms at Travis, who rolled his eyes at how ridiculous he looked at the moment.

“Oh, Travis,” Lisa started, standing up from her seat at the dining table. “You’re always welcome in our home; it really isn’t that big of a deal for us.” She pulled him into a tight embrace.

“It still means a lot. As you already know, I didn’t come from a good place. This is all _a lot_.” He could feel Lisa tighten her grip around him.

Henry placed his hand on Travis’ shoulder. “You’re a part of the Fisher family now, whether you like it or not, so get used to this!”

“I need to make more cupcakes.”

Everyone shared a laugh, and the evening rapidly turned into a raucous affair. Sal and Travis made dinner while Henry, Larry, and Lisa were gathered together in the living room, quipping back and forth over random things. After dinner was eaten and they had socialized some more, Sal and Travis kissed Larry goodnight.

“I’ll walkie you tomorrow to tell you what’s up, okay?”

“Alright,” Larry murmured, Sal’s face cupped in his hands. He let him go and closed the door to the apartment.

“I hope everything turns out for you three.” Lisa maundered as she finished putting away the dried dishes sitting in the rack by the sink.

“Yeah… Me, too.” Larry scratched his neck, thinking. “I’m headin’ to bed, I think. Night, Ma.”

“Goodnight, hun. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He hummed as he entered his bedroom, leaning his back on the closed door. Now that he had a moment to himself, the events of the day replayed themselves in his mind. Not only had Travis essentially kissed him, he made out with Sally. He had full intentions of banging them both. And they were perfectly okay with it.

What the hell was happening? Larry leaned his head back and sighed.

He barely slept that night.

The next morning he awoke to the crackle of his walkie talkie. He begrudgingly got out of bed to grab it. “Sally Face?”

“Larry Face! Travis and I will be out shopping and stuff for most of the day. I’ll call back this afternoon when we’re done, mkay?”

“Yeah, sure, do what you need to.”

“Okay, Lar Bear, I love you.”

That caught him off guard. “Uh, love you, too.”

Lar tossed the walkie talkie down and flopped back onto his bed. His life was spiraling and he didn’t know whether that was a good or bad thing. He hoped he wasn’t going in the wrong direction; he didn’t want to fuck up what he had with Sal, and he definitely didn’t want to ruin things between Sal and Travis. Larry _did_ want to keep going, however.

He got off his bed and decided to set to work on a painting he left half finished earlier in the week. It was of Sal in his band uniform, his mace tucked underneath his arm. He remembered early sophomore year Todd had harassed Sal into joining some sort of club, as he was the only person in their group who spent most of his time at home (for fairly good reasons, normally). Sal, seemingly on a whim, went with one of his classmates (her name eluded Larry at the present moment) and ended up enjoying himself. Now he was head drum major, and every practice Larry went to, he could tell Sal was loving every minute of it. He called them his little toy soldiers.

A few hours later, as he was just about putting on the finishing touches, there was a knock on his door. He cleaned off his brush and set it aside, calling “come in!” In came Todd and Ashley. “Oh great, the twin devils have arrived.”

Ash plopped herself onto Larry’s bed, Todd taking a seat on the sofa. Ash had a mischievous grin splayed across her lips. “So, how was yesterday?”

Larry huffed. “Well, I made out with Sal, and Travis licked cake mix off of my mouth.”

“Are you together now?” Ash swung her feet, lightly smacking them off the floor.

“I don’t know. Sal said ‘I love you’ before he hung up earlier, so maybe?”

“Do you _want_ to be in a relationship with them?” Todd readjusts his glasses on his nose, glancing over at the painting.

“I do, but...”

“You’re hesitant. Why?” Todd questioned, very pointedly.

“I’m afraid of fuckin’ things up.”

“Then confess to them. Be honest about how you’re feeling. They will understand.” Ash stood and walked over to place her hands on Larry’s shoulders.

“You really think so?”

“Larry, look,” Todd extended his arm, gesturing to the painting. “Here you’ve captured the focus and serenity that exudes itself off of Sal. You know better than us that Sal is, usually, the most understanding and intuitive person you could ask for. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him yell at someone out of anger.”

“Travis has also made a huge effort to better himself as a person. And he has really striven to be on your good side specifically. You have nothing to worry about.” Ash squeezed his shoulders reassuringly.

“Whatever it is that you’re concerned over, either they’ll acknowledge it as minuscule as it, or they’ll work with you to fix it.”

Larry considered what they had said to him. “How the hell can you give me this advice and yet you were horrible _goblins_ just yesterday?”

Todd’s face twisted up. “We’re not fuckin’ NPCs.”

Larry choked out a wheeze. “Alright, alright, funny man, I’ll talk to ‘em when they’re back from doing their shoppin’.” He drew in a breath, slowly exhaled. “Thank you. For listenin’. N’ helpin’.”

“What can we say? We’re professional matchmakers.” Ash hugged Larry’s head.

“You’re welcome, Larry. We help because we care.” Todd arose and stepped forward. “Well, our job here is done. Ashley?”

“Yep! We’re heading out to the park. We’ll see you later, Lar. And nice painting, by the way. I’m still surprised they let Sal wear the girls’ uniform though. Happy, but surprised.”

“Thanks… I just hope Sal likes it.”

“He will. Band is like an extended family to him.” Todd looked over the little details, the blurred silhouettes of the other band members behind Sal. “You should actually _give_ it to him.”

“I planned on it.”

The duo said their goodbyes to Larry and left, leaving Larry enough time to finish the painting and let it dry before his walkie talkie crackled at him again that day.

“Sally Face?”

“Larry Face! We’re done, so you can come up if you wanna.”

“Sure. I have somethin’ for ya, too.”

“Great! I’ll see you soon. Just come right in.” The walkie clicked off and he reset it on his dresser. He gently picked up his painting and cradled it under his arm as he made his way out of his apartment and to the elevator. He was really excited to show Sal his present. And very nervous about talking to them about his feelings. His emotions churned in his stomach.

The doors dinged open and he stepped out onto the fourth floor, and entered apartment 402. “Sal!”

“Kitchen!” Sal was putting food away in the cupboard, kneeling on the floor. Larry awkward stood there and watched in the front room as Sal slowly stood and brushed himself off. “Oh!” He cooed, pacing forward.

“This is for you.” Larry held out the painting for Sal, and he took it, holding it out at arms length.

“Oh, Larry!” He started, his mouth twitching upwards in a smile. “Oh, I love it.” His brows knitted together and his bottom lip trembled slightly. “I love it so much! I have to hang this, gimme a sec.” He frantically whipped his head around and ran further into the living room, hanging it up where something else used to be hung. He stood back and admired it. “Babe! Babe, c’mere!”

“Hold on!” Travis called out from the bedroom. It took him a few moments to emerge, Sal hopping from one foot to the other as he waited, and was ushered over to the painting with zero hesitation.

“Look! Look at what Larry made me!”

Travis looked it over, his hand resting over his chin. “This is really good. Damn, Larry, you captured Sal to a T.” He reached up and brushed his finger along the skirt of Sal’s uniform.

“Aw, you two are so embarrassing.” Larry started to blushed. Sal ran over and hugged him.

“Oh, thank you so much. I _love_ it.” Sal let go and smiled up at Larry. “Hey, babe, you should show him what we got.”

“Sure. Sounds good to me. Come in when you’re done out here, alright, Sal?” Travis waved Larry over, signaling for him to follow. He did so, and entered the bedroom. His jaw nearly dropped. They had replaced Sal’s old twin bed with a queen bed. They also switched out their dresser for a larger one and added another nightstand. The dresser had a mirror attached to it.

“Wow. You are officially moved in.”

“Yep. We couldn’t keep sharing that little thing anymore. It was starting to mess up my neck.” Travis sat down on it and laid back. “So much room!”

“Yeah, really.” Larry looked around, not quite able to take it all in. Sal’s room both looked very familiar and very different now, and it made him feel weird. “It’s certainly an upgrade.”

He heard a snort beside him as Sal walked in. “We upgraded from a Level 1 bedroom to a Level 2 bedroom.” Sal sat on the bed beside Travis.

“Where’s your dad?”

“Dad went on a last minute business trip. He’ll be back Tuesday.”

“Ah, so we’re alone.” Larry closed the door. “I need to talk to you.”

Travis sat up, and both men gave Larry their full attention. “Go on.”

Larry took in a deep breath. “Speaking of upgrades, I wanna be Player 3.”

Sal and Travis looked at each other before Sal started to giggle. “You’re such a dork.”

“ _But_.”

“But?” They parroted, scooting away from each other so Larry could sit between them.

“I’m worried about fucking things up.” He stared at his hands, Sal rubbing his bicep. “I’m worried I’ll fuck up what we have, and that I’ll split you up because of my stupidity.”

“Larry...” Sal started, but was cut off.

“Shh, let me talk.

“I know I have a problem with holding grudging, and I’m a little controlling. I’m so afraid of something bad happening to either of you that I’ll appoint myself as the decision maker. Which clearly isn’t fair.”

They sat in silence, Sal and Travis taking this information in. Travis spoke first. “People can change, Larry. It is a bit of a problem, and if you’re so worried about it, then we’ll work on it. We’ll work on it.”

“Travis is right, honey. We can help you. The first step is being honest with us. If you’re worried about something, you gotta tell us.”

“And no yelling. No shouting, no throwing things, none of that.” Travis wrapped his arms around Larry’s torso. “Do you think you can do that?”

Larry felt like he could cry. A huge weight had been lifted off of him, one he wasn’t even aware of. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do that.”

Sal ran his hand over Larry’s chest. “We love you.”

“I love you, too.” Larry wraps his arms around the two men and squishes them against his body. Travis pecks his cheek.

“So...” Sal begins, running his hand along Larry’s thigh. “We haven’t tested the bed out.”

“What do you me-- oh.” Larry flushed, feeling his blood shoot downwards. “Do-- do you want to?”

Sal and Travis exchanged glances. “We do.”

“Uh, yeah, I’m down.” Larry fidgeted as the other two peeled away from him. “Um. I don’t really know what to do.”

“Just lay down, honey. We’ll do all the work.” Sal kissed him before getting off the bed. He turned to his nightstand and pulled everything they’d need out of it. Larry laid down on the bed as Sal did so. “I’ll be back soon, okay? Don’t get too into it without me.”

“We won’t.” Travis flashed Sal a smirk as he left. He laid along Larry’s side and rested his head on his chest. “It’s nice that you’re here with us now.”

“Yeah. Fuckin’ finally, eh?”

Travis responded with a hum before moving to kiss him. Larry’s lips were surprisingly soft. Larry’s tongue flicks over his lips, sending a tingle surging through his body. He parts his mouth to allow Larry to slip in, feel him up. Travis can’t help but whine.

Larry breaks away to press kisses on Travis’ cheek, from the corner of his mouth up his cheek bone down to his jaw. He stopped before going down to his neck and pulled away, earning an annoyed groan. “Aw, I like seeing my li’l Puerto Rican flustered.”

“ _¡La madre que me parió!_ ” Travis rolled his eyes, chuckling. “Don’t say shit like that.” Larry bites Travis’ neck as a response, rolling his hand against his groin. He groans and hisses. “ _Joder._ ”

“You like that?” He pressed harder against him. “You want more?” Travis feverishly nodded. Larry undid his jeans zipper and button, pulling the jeans down to his mid thigh, and freed his hard on from his trunks. He slowly pumps his member, making Travis bury his head and hands into Larry’s shirt. “Tell me how you feel.”

“ _Me encanta,_ ” Travis moaned, Larry’s free hand stroking his hair.

“Oh, hey, you got him babbling in Spanish.” Sal came back into the room, naked, a few towels under his arm. He placed them and his enema on the nightstand. “ _Nice_.” He climbed onto the bed and sat on his knees.

“ _C_ _állate._ ”

Sal and Larry couldn’t help but snicker. “Okay, you guys need to strip. I’m not gonna be the only one ass-naked here.”

Larry smoothed his thumb over Travis’ tip before letting go. “Let’s get you out of these.” He hooked his fingers into the band of Travis’ underwear and pulled them down, taking the jeans off with them. Travis released his hold on Larry’s t-shirt to allow Larry to slip his hands under the other’s and remove it.

Sal leaned across the bed and caressed Travis’ neck, lightly tracing his fingers up and down, and kissed his cheek. As this was done, Larry pulled his shirt up over his head and flung it off the bed. He slid off to stand before undoing his button and fly, taking off his jeans and boxers.

“ _¡Mierda!_ ” Travis’ mouth dropped open. “Why is your dick so big!?”

Sal threw back his head and cackled. “Oh, honey, how could you not expect this big, heavy thing here?” He fondled Larry’s dick as he spoke, it twitching in his hand. “I mean, Larry’s a big guy.”

“I’d love to see your lips stretched around it.” Larry winked at Travis, who flushed a deep ruddy red. The brunet laid down on the bed. “Go on.”

The blond grabbed onto the base and tentatively lapped and kissed at the tip. Larry ran a hand through his hair, trying to still the smaller man’s nerves. “Don’t rush, we’ve got plenty of time.”

Travis took in the tip and started to suck, earning him a groan. He lightly bobbed his head, drool beginning to dribble down the shaft. He could taste precum on his tongue.

He popped his mouth off and let go, Larry’s cock smacking onto his abdomen. He ran his tongue along the shaft before tapping Sal’s leg. “Take over for me?”

Sal nodded and positioned him over Larry, grabbing his member and effortlessly sliding the whole thing into his mouth, right down to the hilt. He readjusted his jaw and tongue before bouncing his head. Larry could feel his tip poke and prod the back of his throat, and he almost came every time Sal stopped and swallowed around him.

Travis laid next to Larry, the larger man’s hand stroking him fast, his grip tight. The blond was a panting mess, his saliva pooling onto Larry’s shoulder. The brunet pecked his forehead. “You’re such a good boy.”

Sal pulled off of Larry, letting his hard on fall with a wet plop. “I want both of you to cum in my ass.” Larry stopped jacking Travis, watching Sal reach over to the nightstand and grab the lube, a tissue, and a towel. “Move,” he ordered. The other two obeyed, and Sal spread the towel over the bed. Sal motioned for Larry to lay back down like he was previous, and he did so. “Travis, once I take Larry in, I want you behind me.” He squirted the lube into his hand and rubbed it on Larry’s cock.

Sal cleaned off his hand with the tissue before holding Larry and pressing him against his entrance. He slowly lowered himself, hissing. “Oh, Larry, you’re such a big man.”

“No. Just no.”

Sally wheezed out a cackle. “I love you, too.” He sat there for a few minutes, rubbing his hands up and down Larry’s chest, letting himself adjust. He bent down and let himself rest against the brunt. “Okay, Trav, lube up your fingers and stretch me.”

Travis did so, sticking his lubed up index finger inside Sal, right along Larry’s base. “Is this okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Sal hummed, Travis sliding his finger in and out gently, slowly. He added in a second finger, prodding around, stretching his fingers apart. Larry kissed the top of Sal’s head and stroked his back.

Third finger. Sal inhaled sharply, gritting his teeth. “Too soon?” Travis stopped moving.

“Yeah, gimme a sec.” Sal pressed his forehead to Larry’s chest and exhaled. When the discomfort subsided, he gave Travis the okay to move again. He paid extra attention to what he was doing now, as he really didn’t want to hurt Sal.

After some time, Sal spoke up; “okay, I’m ready. I want you to stick your cock in me.”

Travis picked up the lube and coated himself before grabbing hold. He pressed his tip against Sal’s entrance and slid himself in at a snail’s pace. It was a tight fit and he was pressed hard against Larry. He had one hand on Larry’s knee to steady himself. He rested when he was in as far as he could go, waiting for Sal to give him the go ahead.

Sal pulled up from Larry, putting his weight on his knees. “Alright. Larry, I want you to buck up into me. Travis, pull out when he goes in and vice-versa. I want a constant stream of stimulation.”

“So demanding,” Larry teased, thrusting up into Sal as he was told to.

It took them a couple of tries to find their rhythm, but Sal came undone very quickly. His high-pitched moans were nearly screams, and his drool dribbled out of his mouth onto Larry. He was loving every minute, every thrust that happened, relishing the wet slapping sound that came from just behind him. The other two weren’t doing much better. Larry was panting, occasionally letting out a groan here and there, his arms tightly wrapped around Sal’s small frame. He wanted to fill Sal up with his seed.

Travis felt himself hit his climax, the feeling of Sal around him and Larry sliding up against him was too much. He grunted and huffed, his cum hot against Larry’s dick and burning up Sal’s insides. They slowed, and Travis gingerly pulled himself out. He flopped out next to the other two and sighed.

Larry picked his pace back up. He wanted to finish. Sal reached down and jerked himself, keeping pace with Larry’s bucks. “I love you, Lar Bear.”

“Love you, too, Sal.” He smooched his hair, groaning. “You feel so good, baby. I just wanna fill you up. You want my cum?” He could feel himself teetering on the edge.

“Yes. Cum inside me. Make me feel all hot and gooey.”

That did it. Larry nearly crushed Sal with his arms as he came, moaning into his blue locks. “I love you”s fell from his lips like a mantra. Sal sat up and Travis replaced his hand, bringing him to his completion. He spurted his seed onto Larry’s abdomen and chest, a high-pitch sigh spilling out of his lungs.

They cleaned up and the three lay cuddled together, Sal in the middle with Travis and Larry on either side of him. “I love you both so much.”

“We love you, too, jay.” Travis peppered his face with kisses, Larry pressing the side of his face against his back.

They ordered in pizza that night.


	14. Premonition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reality isn't as set in stone as we believe it to be.

The blue-haired man jolted awake, gasping for air. All he could remember before waking was the sense of falling, then the sickening crunch of breaking bones as he hit an unidentifiable solid, hard surface. He found no comfort in the presence of another person. He felt around the bed but found neither of his partners. The room was pitch black; as far as Sal could tell, the door was closed. “Travis? Larry?” A rule was established that the door was to be open if someone had left the room. This didn’t sit well with Sal. He sat in silence, trying to sense the complex. There was only absence.

He swung his legs over the bed and arose. The air chilled him to the bone. He tried the lamp, but it didn’t turn on. He then flicked the light switch, and found similar results. His clock was out as well. Sal came to the conclusion that the power had gone out.

He opened the doors of his nightstand and pulled out a matchbox, then made his way over to his closet. He felt around until he made contact with the oil lamp they kept for emergencies. Pressing the thumb stick down to raise the globe, Sal struck a match and lit the wick, lowering the globe again. Now he had light.

He made his way over to his altar and dropped to his knees, lantern set on the floor beside him, and pulled open the doors. His breath caught in his throat; it was empty. All of his threads and tools were gone. He reached under the collar of his nightgown and pulled out his necklace, clutching the triple goddess pendent in his hand.

Sal slowly stood, lantern returned to his hand, and looked over at his nightstand. His eye and mask were missing as well. His eyepatch alone remained. _‘This has to be some sick prank,’_ he thought, stepping toward his nightstand to take the eyepatch. He’d just have to worry about it later.

The apartment was empty. No one in Henry’s room, nor the bathroom. Sal frantically swiveled around, panic steadily settling in his chest. He checked outside and found only more darkness, as if someone had covered the outside of the windows. He really, really hoped that his friends planned on scaring him at this point.

The scrawny man departed from the apartment and began fleeing to the basement. If there wasn’t anything suspicious happening, then his boyfriends were probably with Lisa. Potentially attempting to start the generator-- if it worked, anyhow.

Or the cult had succeeded in some dark ritual.

The thought made bile shoot into the back of Sal’s throat. With his tools missing, there was nothing he could do. His descent down the stairs gained speed; he needed to get to the bottom of this situation as hastily as he possibly could, lest the world ended while he wasn’t looking. The wood of the steps were cold on his bare feet, furthering his need to bundle his nightgown closer to his body. The fabric nearly reached his ankles, but it still did not give him enough warmth. He guessed the railing would have also been cold to the touch, however he refused to let go of his pendent. It and the lantern were his only comforts at the present moment, although they couldn’t stave off the anxiety that sat in his gut. His _mask_ was gone. His _eye_ was gone. He needed to find them.

He rapped on the Johnson door. When he was met with no answer, he tentatively tested the knob. It turned and the door creaked open. _‘It was left unlocked.’_ Sal didn’t know if he should be concerned or relieved at the revelation. He transverses the abode, checking each room. Again, both bed and bath were barren. “Lisa?” Sal started. “Larry? Travis? Is **anybody** here?”

Sal withdrew from the apartment and ascended the stairs, his destination the second floor. He hammered his fist against the Morrison door. He prayed that Janis would hear him. She was a light sleeper and, once she found out about his night terrors, had told Sal that he could wake her up if he ever needed help. He was completely unnerved by the reticence that blanketed itself over the building. He could feel not one soul.

Once more he was met with nothing. This door, too, was unlocked. He knocked on Todd’s door. Silence. Sal looked in and found the ginger missing. The same result was found when Sal looked for the other’s parents. He could feel dread seep into every single one of his bones. He shook visibly, his knees knocking together.

Sal shot up to the fifth floor and began to methodically check every accommodation. Again and again he was met with nothing. He was even able to force his way into Terrence’s home, and found that the man himself had up and disappeared. He leaned against the outside of the door, staring out at the foyer. How could an entire complex of people _vanish_? Did the cult invade and he was left as the only survivor? This felt all too real to be a dream; there was no distant haziness, no film of lethargy hanging on his body. He had never ever woken up from one nightmare to another. Nor had he started a nightmare in his own bed.

The last thing left for him to do was check on the temple. He screamed when he found that the entrance had vanished itself, nearly dropping his lantern. How could that have happened? He wanted an answer and no answer at all. He wanted to hide underneath his covers, he wanted to be held, he wanted everything to just stop.

Sal suppressed the desire to cry. Losing it would gain him nothing. He could cry when he was safe. Lantern firmly in hand, he left the apartment building. He was assaulted by a brisk wind. He could see nothing. Blackness surrounded him. A light frost covered the ground, making his bare feet hurt. He pressed on through the pain and fear. He walked in the middle of the street. The only thing he could sense was some monster beyond where the stars used to be; getting hit by a car was the least of his concerns, nor was it even that likely at this point. He was the only person left.

He had to get to the church. The Ministry had something to do with this. _‘_ _I_ _h_ _ave_ _to do something.’_ Sal focused on watching his breath puff in front of his face, reminding him that his prosthetic was missing. One of his hands was outstretched with the lantern, the other clutched over his chest for warmth. He was stupid for not going up to his home first to at least grab a coat and shoes, but he had to hurry: there was no time to waste.

He pushed open the entrance and was met with not the inside of a church but that of a bar. Dimly lit and reeking of alcohol, yet none attended. No keep nor patrons. He truly was alone. Sal crossed the lounge, intending to go further into the building, wherever he was. He pushed open the door to the back room, and found himself back in the living room of his old home back in New Jersey. This had to be a dream. If not, then the Powers That Be were a bunch of sick fucks.

A lounge chair was placed in the middle of the room, back facing the blue-haired man. The scent of alcohol was much stronger here, as it was back when they had actually lived there. What was mixed in that was not supposed to be there was the smell of feculence and decay. He tentatively approached, covering his mouth as a sob escaped. He saw his father, having suffocated on his own vomit after presumably binge drinking. “No, no, no this can’t be real, _this can’t be real_ ,” he rambled to himself, backing away from the scene. His tears were hot against his otherwise frozen skin, unable to tear himself away from the grotesque display.

Sal bolted out of the building. He was met with the sight of a car, Henry’s car, turned over and crushed on its top, blood painted along the road. He shook, not from the cold, but from rage, resentment, bitterness, horror. He father couldn’t be dead. He can’t lose him, too.

Just beyond the void, he saw what he imagined to be movement. “A young boy stands at the threshold of oblivion, mesmerized by the eternal abyss.”

A deep tremor ran its course through Sal’s body. “What? I’m not sure I understand.” He was making a mistake, he could feel it. Don’t converse with demons.

“Tormented and bound by the world of mankind, a prisoner of flesh and bone.” A thousand voices rung inside of Sal’s head. It made his teeth rattle. He saw hands reach out for him, and try as he might to flinch away, they touched his shoulders.

Suddenly, he was returned to his apartment, as if his excursion had never taken place. He felt a rush of warmth and it made him feel sick. He couldn’t focus his eye on anything, the world was blurry. His lantern was replaced with a chamberstick, the candle lit. His feet still hurt from the cold. They were still wet. _That had happened._

“Sal?” He blinked and saw Travis’ face. There was no more monster, only one of his beloveds. “You’ve been walking around in a circle mumbling to yourself for, like, five minutes. Are you okay?”

The only thing he could do was blow out the candle before he crumpled to the floor. He finally allowed sobs to wrack his body. He cared not for the uncertainty of the situation. He only wanted to be held, and he was; dark arms wrapped themselves around his small, trembling frame. A lamp by the sofa was turned on, and he heard thumps behind him. A hand was placed on his back. “Jesus, Sal, yer freezin’.” Larry locked eyes with Travis. “What happened?”

“Oh my god, this is real. _This is real_ ; we’re so screwed!” Sal babbled on hysterically, shaking his head back and forth violently.

“Jay, calm down. You’re not making any sense.” Travis goaded the shorter man into making his way over to the couch. They sat, Larry joining them, and he rocked him in his arms.

“Seriously, dude, it was probably jus’ another nightmare.”

“ **No**! That was not a nightmare.” Sal took a deep breath, attempting to steady himself. No one would gain anything if he wasn’t levelheaded.

“Then what was it, Sal?” Larry watched Sal’s hands move to play with the end of his braid, blue locks frayed between his fingers.

“I don’t know! Presumably it was a metaphysical adumbration of a possible future.”

Larry and Travis looked at each other. “Ya gotta talk to us like we’re five, li’l dude.”

Sal groaned; he wished he was talking to Todd. “I didn’t exactly see the future, but I was shown things that _represented_ what could happen. I think. It’s hard to fully understand what I was just put through, so I can only _guess_.”

“Like one’a your vision spells?” Larry’s nose scrunched up, concerned.

“No. Those… I only experience a heightened sense of intuition. And with my nightmares, there’s like this thin barrier between me and whatever I’m going through. It’s like when I feel pain, I don’t _actually_ feel pain, but I sense that I _should_ be feeling pain, y’know? That… I _felt_ that. I was actually _there_.”

Travis brushed his fingers along Sal’s bicep. “Well, what happened?”

Deep breath. “I was alone. Everyone was gone. The entire apartment was empty, and no one was outside. And it was like the world only existed where I stood, and where my light went. I left the apartment building, and just beyond the void there was _something_. Some monster I just wasn’t able to see, but I could feel it there. I made my way over to the Ministry-- I don’t know why, I had some sixth sense shit telling me to get there-- and the inside was of a bar, then the back was the den of my old home.” Sal paused, and choked on his breath. “And I saw my dad’s dead body. I left and right outside was my dad’s crashed car. And right before I came back, that horrible demon spoke to me.” He held his head in his hands. Nothing about this felt right. “And now I’m here.”

The trio sat in silence, taking in what was explained. Sal was considering opening up a can of worms he probably shouldn’t be. Travis and Larry were wondering what they were going to do for their poor partner; he was clearly upset, and they had reason to believe everything he said. Sal spoke again. “Trav, have you ever heard of The Devourers of God?”

Larry stiffened. Was Sal really going to rope him into this, too? He saw that Travis had the same reaction as him, piquing his interest.

“Yes. I’ve heard passing of the name when I’ve snooped through my father’s personal affairs. I don’t know what it is though.”

“They’re a cult, Travis. Your father is involved with a cult.”

The blond sighed. “Can’t say I’m entirely surprised.”

“What his position is in the cult I’m not sure, but they’re using the Ministry. Their goal is to bring a demon into this world at any means necessary. Why, we have no idea. It doesn’t help that they have acolytes everywhere. The police, our school. We haven’t figured out how to stop them yet.” Frustration bubbled within Sal’s gut. Why, exactly, was he getting him involved?

“Why do _you_ have to stop them?” It seemed like such a simple, innocent question to ask.

“Because I’m the only one who can.” Sal sounded so defeated as he spoke, it broke the others’ hearts.

Travis brought him close to his body, rubbing the small of his back. “Okay. We’ll figure it out, baby. We’ll figure it out.”

“So you believe me?”

“Of course I do. Why wouldn’t I?” He pressed a kiss to Sal’s temple.

“’Cuz it’s a _cult_.” Larry shrugged his shoulders. “People like to sweep that shit under the rug if they can.”

“Or they’re an acolyte.” Sal rubbed at his face.

“Regardless, I believe you. We’ll talk about this in the morning though. It’s half-past midnight.” Travis forced Sal to stand, motioning for Larry to come as well, and led him back to the bedroom.

Sal was relieved to have this happen. It would have been difficult to dance around Travis with their investigation. Now they didn’t have to. Sal still didn’t sleep well that night however.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of fun to write, although to do feel bad for my poor boy.  
> You can follow me on Tumblr: lollipopdollie.tumblr.com You can ask me questions, or force a response out of me for other shit. Or you can watch me slowly lose my mind because I'm a messy writer.  
> Thanks for reading!


	15. A Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey, hey, listen. You’re not alone. No matter what, Sal, through thick and thin you are family. I _promise_ you that I will _always_ be by your side. I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll make damn well sure you’re happy. We’ll fix this, **together**.”

Maple stood in the elevator, making her way up to the fourth floor. She had been tossing and turning in her sleep all night. Her dreams kept turning to Sal, and every time she felt a pit form in her stomach; something was wrong. After having breakfast with her parents, she jumped into her car and rushed to Addison Apartments. Her heart was practically in her throat the whole time. With Sal’s vision spells, his newfound interest in magick, and his inexplicable ability to attract the paranormal, she couldn’t help but feel that he was getting himself involved in something far bigger than any of them could imagine.

The doors dinged open and she couldn’t have gotten to Room 402 any faster if she tried. She knocked and took in a deep breath. _‘Calm down, I’m sure everything’s fine.’_

The door swung open and she saw Sal’s eyes widen behind his prosthesis. “Maple?”

“Hey, bud. How are you?” She smiled at him.

Sal hesitated. She couldn’t read his face because of the barrier, but she felt like what was going to come out was a lie, at least to a degree. “I’m… Fine. Did you stay at Chug’s?”

“Ah, no actually. Can I come in?” She looked up and down the hallway, then leaned in towards Sal, her voice low. “I don’t think we should be talking about what I have on my mind out in the open.”

The edges of Sal’s brows appeared at the edges of his eye holes. “Uh, sure...” He backed away from the door to allow Maple to slip in. “What’s up?” He was nervous. Was she aware of his vision from last night?

“Are we alone?” She closed the door, her back pressed against it.

“Yeah. Trav is at church and Larry went downstairs to do stuff with Lisa.”

“Good.” Maple locked the front door. No one was going to walk in and ruin everything for her. “Sit down and take off your mask. I want you to be entirely honest with me.”

Maple was more stern with him than he’d ever experienced; it kind of scared Sal. He sat down on the couch and unclasped his mask, placing it in his lap. “What’s wrong?”

Maple sat on the opposite end of the couch, and made direct eye contact with him. “I kept having dreams about you last night, and while I don’t exactly remember what happened, I remember feeling so scared for you, like you were going to die or something. And with all these unearthly things that find their way to you, I can’t help but feel like you’re digging your nose into stuff you shouldn’t.”

Sal had been caught red-handed. His face twitched as he tried to keep his emotions in check. “I don’t… Know what--”

“Sal. Please. Talk to me.” Maple was tense, and Sal could see how perturbed she was. It hurt his heart.

“I promised myself I wouldn’t get you involved.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m scared of what could happen to you. The only reason why I have anyone else involved in what I’m doing is because there was no other choice.”

Maple stiffened. “So, if you could, you’d be doing everything alone?”

Sal nodded. He could see where Maple was going.

“Sal. I need you to tell me what you’re talking about. I want every last detail.”

He sighed. “When I first moved to the apartments, I got this weird feeling about everything. And then the place is fuckin’ haunted.” He threw his hands up into the air, as if saying “of fucking course it is, what was I expecting”.

“Yeah, Chug has relayed some stuff to me, like about Megan.”

“Okay. Then let’s fast forward. There was a demon here. Summoned in by our neighborhood cult. We got rid of the demon, as far as I can tell, but it doesn’t feel like it’s a permanent solution.”

“Cue your interest in magick.”

“Yeah.” Sal held his head in his hands. He wanted to keep Maple safe, away from all of this. But he had to give it to her: she was far smarter and more intuitive than he gave her credit for. “Last night I had this vision of the future. Sorta… I dunno how to explain it.”

“It wasn’t exactly a play-by-play, but it was images of stuff that you could use to piece things together, I reckon?”

Sal looked up at her, bug eyed. “Holy fuck, Maple. You’ve been hitting the nail on the head again and again.”

“Sal, _I’m_ the one who brought you to Daydream Corner. This isn’t exactly foreign to me.”

“Right...” Well now he just felt stupid. “Well, what I think what will happen is that the demon will be summoned here again, and maybe the world will end? And I think they’ll kill off my father to distract me.” Sal felt his eye get misty; that was the worst part of the vision.

“Do you think they’re onto you?”

“It’s possible.”

“Who are they?”

“The Devourers of God. They’re using the Phelps Ministry as a base.”

Maple drew in a breath, taking in everything that she was told. She reached out and placed her hand on top of Sal’s. “Listen to me. You do not have to do this alone. I understand why you want to, but you won’t get anywhere without any help.” She paused, feeling herself choke up. “And I don’t think I could forgive myself if something happened to you and I did _nothing_ to help.”

“Maple, you can’t--”

“Put the weight of the world on my shoulders? What have _you_ been doing, Sal?”

He blinked away tears welling up in his eye. “I don’t have a choice. I wish I did, but I don’t. I’m **scared** , Maple.”

“Hey, hey, listen. You’re not alone. No matter what, Sal, through thick and thin you are family. I _promise_ you that I will _always_ be by your side. I’ll keep you safe, and I’ll make damn well sure you’re happy. We’ll fix this, **together**.” She clenched her jaw. She didn’t want to start crying, but she couldn’t stop the waterworks when she saw tears fall down Sal’s cheek. She pulled him into a tight hug and buried her nose into his soft blue locks. “You’re my little brother, Sal. I love you so, so much. I’d do literally _anything_ for you.” _‘I’d die for you,’_ she added in her head.

“I know. I just don’t want anyone hurt because of me.” Sal sniffled, his arms tight around Maple.

“You don’t have to worry about that, hon.” She pulled away from him, holding his shoulders at arms’ length. “Let’s have a Town Hall tonight, alright? We should talk this over.”

 

 

Maple called up the rest of the gang and asked for them to meet up at Sal’s apartment that evening. When they had all arrived, she spent the first half-hour catching everyone up to date so they were all on the same page. She was pleasantly surprised by Neil taking in the information so well; he simply believed everything without question.

Sal sat slouched in the chair by the sofa, clearly uncomfortable with and anxious over everything that was happening. He wanted as few people in the know as possible, and now Maple was bringing everyone into the mix. Why was he just letting her? Sal was hating himself more and more with each minute that passed.

“Does everyone understand?” Maple asked, finishing her spiel. She saw all heads nod, sans Sal. “Okay, great. Those of you who were a part of this ghost hunting group already, I need you to explain to me what you’ve been doing to help Sal.”

Todd spoke up, looking to Sal before giving his attention to the woman in the middle of the room. “I’ve been assisting Sal by attempting to invent tools for him to use. For example, I modified his Gear Boy to detect certain frequencies so he may make contact with spirits.”

“Using science to make magick. How do you feel about him switching to traditional methods of magick?”

“Well, obviously our method is useful in some situations, but not in others. Him using his threads and the like is him being able to more directly manipulate his magick. Both of our methods have their place. I’m still useful otherwise, as I’m the one who does the bulk of our research.” Todd shrugged his shoulders.

Maple nodded, taking it in. “What do you have in terms of research?”

“I’ve been keeping tabs on the Cult along with Ash, and I’ve been looking for sealing spells, or something of the sort, that Sal will be able to execute. I’ve also been keeping notes on our supernatural experiences.”

“Where do you keep these notes?”

“On paper, kept in a locked filing cabinet. I keep the key on me,” Todd patted his pocket for emphasis.

“Alright. I only ask because there’s the risk of them knowing about us. Ash?”

Ash sat up at the mention of her name. “I’ve been helping Todd mostly when it comes to the Cult. The rest of my time is spent making sure everything’s all fine and dandy here.” She gestured to Sal, who couldn’t have sunk further into his chair if he tried. “Usually by asking him what he feels. If something’s up, I try to help out.”

Maple acknowledged her before moving her attention to Larry, who didn’t seem to be too happy that this was happening.

He let out a huff before speaking. “I’ve been tryin’ ta keep Sal on his feet. Or I suggest shit. Trav just found out ‘bout all this last night, so he hasn’t fallen inta anythin’ yet.”

“Speaking of Travis, I have a proposition.” She looked to the blond before continuing. “Are you aware of your family’s church’s involvement in the Cult?”

“I am. I found mentions of it when I’ve gone through my father’s belongings.”

“Do you think you could infiltrate or something? I know it’s a lot to ask, but it would be really helpful.”

Travis lolled his head from side to side, thinking. “I ran into my mother today, and she wanted me to meet up with her on the weekend at this diner. I could maybe do something with that.”

“Okay. We’ll go with that and see where it goes. Thank you.” Maple’s eyes wandered from him to Sal. He was curled in on himself, pressed into the corner of the chair furthest from everyone. “Sally?”

His head shot up, and the look he gave Maple made her heart shatter. “I don’t want anyone to be involved in this bullshit. This should have only been _my_ problem from the start.”

Before Maple could speak, Neil stood up from his spot on the floor and walked over to Sal, sitting on the arm of the chair. “Hey, Salio, we get it, but you gotta get where _we’re_ coming from, you know? You’re our friend, yeah?”

“Yes, but--”

“Hold up,” Neil placed his hand on the top of Sal’s head. “You’re our friend, so we want to help you. You’d do the same for any of us, right? So let us do this for _you_. The more of us helping, the higher the chance you’ll have at succeeding. And if something bad happens, you don’t have to pretend that everything’s alright.”

Sal’s whole body tensed up. All the pleading eyes staring at him, the soft expressions, the concern; it was too much for him. “I don’t know why you’re so nice to me. Why care so much?”

Neil’s hand moved from Sal’s head to his shoulder. “We know you’ve had it hard, so it’s hard for you to accept this, but we care about you because we just do.”

“Yeah,” Chug nearly shouted, “you couldn’t tell us why you care about us so much. Things are just the way they are, Sally Face.”

Sal could feel his pulse surging through his body. He felt nervous and sick, but he knew they were right. _‘You can’t change things, Sal. They know, they wanna help. That’s just how it is.’_ He swallowed hard, considering doing probably the dumbest thing he could think about. It’d be the deciding factor in all of this, and it wasn’t like half the people in the room didn’t know already.

He felt like he was on the verge of crying. Inhale, exhale. He reached behind his head and undid the clasps holding his prosthetic, and let it fall to his lap. His eyes were screwed shut, and when he opened them his eye locked with Todd’s. Todd’s hands were folded in his lap, and his brows were scrunched together out of concern. Sal could tell that Todd understood why he just did that. He looked to Chug, who just seemed to be taking his features in, not bothered by his disfigurement. He then turned to check Neil, who simply smiled and gave him a thumbs up. Everyone could tell his was about to cry.

Sal saw Todd open up his arms and wiggle his fingers at him. He reluctantly got up and walked over to him, and was pulled down into his lap. Todd was practically cradling him. “Open your mouth.”

“Todd, that’s not an appropriate thing to ask me to do--”

“Do it.”

Sal rolled his eyes and did so, and was startled when Todd leaned in and shouted “YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL!”

“Did you just yell into my mouth!? What the _fuck_!?”

“Yeah, now swallow it and take it into your soul.” Todd started giggling to himself. That’s when Maple screamed, laughing and holding her sides.

“ _Todd_! I’m gonna pee!” Maple was losing her shit, as was everyone else.

When the laughter died down, Sal spoke up. “I fucking hate you, ya ginger piece of crap.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that, because you’re not gonna cry now.”

Sal looked up at him with a blank expression. “Did you mean it though?”

“Honestly? You look like a little porcelain doll and it’s making me mad. How dare you be so cute?”

“Shut the fuck up, Todd.”

Todd blinked. Sal could tell the gears were turning in his head. “Hug the boy!”

Sal couldn’t begin to protest before Maple nearly threw herself into him, followed by Chug, Ash, and Neil. He could feel Larry and Travis come up behind Todd and join in.

Chug pressed his cheek against Sal’s. “D’ya believe that we care now?”

“Yeah.” Sal sniffled, curling his hands around Chug’s forearm. “Thank you, guys, so much.”

“It’s not a problem, Salio.”

After some time, the group hug broke apart, and the group sat in a circle. “Okay, so our plan of action is to see where things go with Travis. If he can get into the Cult, either through himself or other means, then we’ll know their every move. Until then, keep doing what you’ve been doing.” Maple gestured to Sal, Todd, Ash, and Larry.

The evening quickly dissolved into fun. With all the hard things out of the way, they needed to kick back. Sal was happy. He made maybe the best decision he could have made. Or the worst, but only time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cried while writing this. I love Maple so much, she's so wonderful. And Todd's still a shit.  
> I'm thinking of writing a Salarry oneshot, so keep your peepers peeled.  
> Thanks for reading! My Tumblr: lollipopdollie.tumblr.com  
> Would y'all be interested if I made a Discord server? Let me know if you are.  
>  **Edit:** I made a server: https://discord.gg/TxJp4bf


	16. Opening Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sal has always been a private person, but he really shouldn't be. He has a lot going on in his life and in his head. Todd is proud of him either way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap, this took me forever to get out. With burnout then starting a bunch of other projects, this kinda fell by the wayside.  
> I also had to split this chapter in two because it was too fucking long.  
> Thanks for reading!

Todd rushed to the cafeteria as soon as the lunch bell rang. Sal had mentioned that he wanted to show him and Maple something during their ride to school that morning, and it sounded pretty urgent. He took his usual seat at the end of the table right next to Maple. “Where’s Sal?” He asked, noticing the empty space between Larry and Travis.

“Over there with his band friends,” Chug answered, pointing to a table across the room. The little blue-haired man was engrossed in conversation with a handful of girls and two other guys, most of whom Todd recognized.

“Sal said he had something for you and me,” Todd addressed Maple, “do you think I should go over there and bring him back?” He didn’t exactly know why, but he was feeling anxious. Maybe it was the atmosphere Sal was permeating since the day before, like a bubble that was about to pop.

“Leave him be. It’s not like he bugs his cousin that often.” Maple shrugged, patting Todd’s arm. “He’ll be back soon, don’t worry. He has to eat, you know.”

“Yeah. You’re right when you’re right,” Todd sighed. He began to pull his food out of his lunch box. Getting whatever it was out of the way immediately was definitely preferable to him, but they had plenty of time. God, why was he feeling so antsy about it? He stared at the sandwich in front of him, not feeling particularly hungry. He tore a piece of it off and ate it; some food was better than no food. He looked up, catching a glimpse of Larry leaning over and kissing Travis’ cheek. He smiled and covered his mouth with his fist before speaking. “Now that’s good shit.”

Larry rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yer blackmailin’ worked.”

“Blackmail?” Travis asked, raising an eyebrow at Todd.

“Okay, listen,” Todd propped his elbows on the tables, “I have been trying to hook him and Sal up for _months_. But apparently I’m the only one who noticed how obvious they were being.”

“Well, yeah, you’re the gay one (minus Travis). I can’t smell the gay on them as well as you can.” To emphasize her point, Ash moved over to smell Larry, giving a very loud snort. “Ah, well, all I smell is Larry.”

“I’m more metalhead than gay, I guess.”

“Bitch, you smell like coconuts!” Ash proclaimed, a little too boisterously. Todd slammed his hand on the table, his other hand pressed against his mouth, trying very hard not to laugh. He failed. He convulsed forward before throwing his head back and crowing. He had to grip the edge of the table to keep himself from falling off his seat.

Chug shot his arm out behind Maple in an attempt to catch Todd. “If you fall, I can’t save you.” Maple leaned forward to give her boyfriend more room. Todd couldn’t contain himself and started to lean off the side of the table. “No! Cease!”

“You’re making this worse!” Todd shrieked between gasps and giggles.

“I leave for five minutes and everything falls into chaos. Can’t I see dear Pip!?” Sal had returned to their table and took his usual spot between his two partners. “Who did what and why?”

“He was looking a little tense, so I decided to lighten the mood. I didn’t expect him to _die_.”

“Of course it was you, Ash.” Sal shook his head in mock annoyance. “I haven’t decided if I regret that D&D game from two years ago. Y’all never would’a become the Twin Devils.”

“Don’t chastise us,” Todd said, finally steadying himself. “But according to Ash, I can smell the gay on you, as an explanation as to why I was the only one who noticed your mutual crush.” He pointed his finger between Sal and Larry.

“I was always worried about that. I was so concerned about ruining our friendship.” Sal rested his head on Larry’s shoulder and rubbed his arm. “But I’m glad we waited, since now we’re a threesome.”

Todd chocked on his spit. “Dammit, call yourselves a throuple.”

“We do have threesomes though, let’s be honest.”

“We didn’t need to know that, Sal.” Todd wheezed out, everyone falling into another laughing fit.

“Ash said you were looking tense?” Sal offered, trying to steer into a new, more contained conversation.

“Right. I am feeling a little out of sorts. I’m not sure why, but when you told me that you had something for Maple and I to check out, it sounded so pressing that I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

That spurred Sal, causing him to shoot downwards to grab his bag. “Yes, yes! This is vital for you to look at.” He pulled the book of shadows out and pushed it across the table. “This looks like a regular book of shadows-- a witch’s journal--, but the more I go through it, the more I realize it’s not. The first half is perfectly normal, but then it gets weird.” As Sal spoke, Maple grabbed it and flipped it open, Todd leaning in beside her. “There’s some stuff on alchemy, which I suppose wouldn’t be too out there for a witch to get into but then;” Sal paused, pressing his finger between a few pages, flipping them to where he left a sticky tab. “Then what is all of this?”

Maple and Todd’s eyes skimmed over the two pages, unrecognizable characters plastered all over it, accompanied with symbols and other diagrams. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Maple spoke in a low, measured tone.

“Neither have I. Of course, I’ve only done research; that’s not the same as actually partaking in witchcraft.”

“Can we even call this witchcraft? What was this person doing?” Maple ran her fingers over the pages, feeling something start to build up in her that she couldn’t even begin to describe. Dread? Fear?

“Ash and I have been wracking our brains over it for the past month, and we’ve come up fairly empty handed.”

“Not entirely though! We’re thinking it could be some kind of divine language, since Sal can somewhat recall seeing letters like that before.”

“Where?” Todd’s head shot up, locking eyes with Sal’s.

“Remember those tomes in the Temple? They look similar. Not entirely the same though, so I’m not so sure of my observation.” Sal fiddled with the hem of his shirt as he spoke. He was still uncomfortable with the prospect of involving other people in his search to end the Cult, but with more eyes on the lookout, it’d happen faster.

“They’re not one to one, but they’re close enough, I gather?” Todd looked at the journal once more, unable to remember what Sal was talking about. “I’ll try to find out what language this could possibly be. In the meantime, you and I should go practice your magick.”

“We should. There was this _old_ pharmacy that burned down a few years ago a two hour or so drive outside of Nockfell. Wanna check it out?”

“If you feel like that’s the best approach, Sal.” Todd shrugged, watching Maple close the book and hand it back to Sal, who promptly threw it back into his bag.

“Great! Babe, can we borrow the truck?”

“Uh, sure, I don’t see why not. Just… Promise me you two will be careful.” Travis nuzzled Sal’s hair as he spoke. This wasn’t the most dangerous thing Sal has ever done nor will ever do, but it made him feel uneasy regardless.

“Of course we will, Trav; no need to worry.” Sal drew soothing circles on Travis’ leg as he spoke. “Thank you.” He pressed his forehead to Travis’ before pulling his food out, undoing his bottom clasp. “So, we’ll drive back to the apartments, grab our gear, then head out. Sound good?”

“Yes. We should probably eat out though. It’ll be four hours of driving alone.” Todd peeled off more of his sandwich, feeling his appetite come back.

“Alright. It’s been a while since it was just you and me hanging out.”

“Oh yeah! That was way back in July. I distinctly remember you smashed my ice cream into my face.”

Sal threw back his head and let out a cackle. “I’m sorry, although it was pretty funny.” Sal popped an apple slice into his mouth before changing the subject, again. “God, it’s what? Physics then PE before the day’s over? Ugh.”

“Physics isn’t so bad, Sal.”

“I know, it’s just… I dunno, Mrs. George is out for me, I swear.”

Travis rubbed his hand along Sal’s back. “I’m sure she only cares about you, jay.”

“She cares a little too much. ‘You should study physics or chemistry after you graduate.’ I’ll study whatever the fuck I want, thank ya very much.” Sal scoffed, eating another apple slice.

“She’s just a teacher, Sal,” Maple stated, “you won’t have to deal with her after you graduate, hon.”

The blue-haired man gave a dry laugh. “That’s what you think,” he said under his breath.

“Okay, how about we drop the conversation,” Chug offered, motioning with his hands. “How’s band?”

“Mm! We’ve got something cool planned, since next week is the last game. Then we’ve got competitions ending soon as well, so our off-season is quickly approaching.” Sal sighed wistfully. “I’m both excited and sad, you know? It gives me more time to focus on other things, but I’m missing out on band.”

“Do your band friends take up anything during the winter months?” Chug looked back at the other group as he asked, assessing them.

“Most of them do soccer. That’s not for me though. But Lily said I should join dance, so I might take her up on that offer. I need _something_ to keep me fit.”

“Excuse me!?” Todd exclaimed, slamming his hand onto the table. “You’re a fucking demon when it comes to PE class and you need an extracurricular to keep yourself fit?”

“We have Thanksgiving dinner and Christmas dinner during the off-season months. I’ll put on some pudge if I’m not careful.”

“You’d look so cute with some tummy pudge, not gonna lie,” Ash chuckled, reaching around Larry to pinch Sal.

“Even if I looked cute, I’d die when marching band season comes around again. I can’t just let myself go.” Sal rolled his eyes, finishing off the last of his food and putting it away.

“Is it band related, or is it actually related to your body image?” Maple prodded, raising an eyebrow.

Sal was taken aback, hesitating a little before answering. “Okay, it _might_ be related to body image issues. It’s hard for me to be athletic for most of the year and then get out of shape.”

“Sally, honey, I think your anxiety is getting the better of you,” Maple started, placing her hands on her hips. “You have PE every day you’re in school, I know for a fact you exercise at home, and you do generally take care of yourself. Go ahead and join dance, but only do it because you think it’d be fun.”

“If I may,” Chug interjected, “you’ll never be my size, Sal.” He pointed his hand to his chest. “I’m perfectly happy with myself, but I am aware that I’m fat. Putting on a few pounds isn’t the end of the world.”

Sal groaned, propping his head up with his hand, his elbow resting on the table. “I swear things never used to be this bad.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Sal groaned again even louder, both relieved and annoyed. He stood up from his seat, swinging his bag over his shoulders. Todd took his place by Sal, entwining their hands. Sal got a kiss from both Larry and Travis before the two set off for their class together. Todd began to swing their arms in a lazy rhythm, mirroring Sal’s gait, as they walked to the end of the hallway. Todd enjoyed these little moments with him. It was quiet, and just them. Maybe he’d bug Sal to go out with him on the weekend, since he rarely got to hangout with _just_ Sal. Normally Ash and/or Larry tagged along, and while that never bothered him, it did bring a different energy to them.

They entered their classroom and took their seats, right in the front row. Todd noticed Sal immediately tense, arranging his books and writing utensils neatly on his desk-- a little too neatly. Sal sat straight up in his chair, hands folded on top of his binder. Todd continued to observe him throughout the class. He diligently took notes, raised his hand whenever a question was asked, and maintained such focus on the teacher that it kind of scared Todd. Had Sal always been like this? No, he couldn’t have been. He often fell asleep. He was quiet. He certainly partook in class, but this was abnormal. Was he that scared of their physics teacher? Well, they had plenty of time to talk later.

At the end of class, Todd grabbed Sal’s hand. “Are you doing okay, Sal?” He asked as they walked out of the room and down the hallway.

“I’m fine,” Sal answered, his eyes darting side to side in confusion. He gave Todd’s hand a reassuring squeeze. The ginger simply nodded as they made their way to gym. “One more class and then we’re out.”

“Yay. We may not be staying home, but it is nice to be over and done with school for the day.” Todd pushed through one of the big metal doors, holding it open for Sal. He followed close behind the shorter man as they made their way to the locker room. Todd and Sal kept to one corner as they changed clothes, the ginger blocking anyone from seeing Sal remove his prosthetic.

It always surprised Todd how well built Sal was. He wasn’t super muscular, no, but the blue-haired man could still easily knock him on his ass if he wanted to. While Sal definitely wasn’t adverse to wearing form-fitting clothes or clothes that showed off more than just a little bit of skin, Sal never looked better than when he was wearing activewear. Todd himself wasn’t out of shape, far from it, but he also wasn’t athletic. At all. Sal had offered that he was willing to be a workout buddy for Todd. Maybe he’d finally take him up on it, since Todd could only guess that he’d further fall into his sedentary life. Or, better yet, they could go with Larry and Neil, since those two already went to the gym together.

Todd couldn’t help but take a peek at Sal. His prosthetic was in his lap, and he was brushing his hair up into a high ponytail, elastic band held in his lips. It didn’t hurt Sal that he was genuinely attractive. Athletic, yet could still maintain a relatively androgynous figure. Strikingly pale skin, yet he didn’t look like a corpse. Little tan freckles mottled his shoulders and back. Silky blue hair the color of a cloudless sky pooled around his shoulders in loose waves when he wore it down. Long, slender limbs. Even with his disfigurements, Sal still had a distinguished round face, his features soft and plump. The light gray scars and the deeper long gone wounds gave him a much needed roguishness to his otherwise doll-like visage. It was a juxtaposition Todd didn’t get to see, or admire, that often if at all.

Neil and Todd had talked long into the night about Sal after what happen on Sunday. Not being able to see his face for so long, they both had to admit that their imaginations got the better of them. Of course they knew Sal wasn’t going to look as horrific as they thought, but they were completely caught off guard by just how _adorable_ he really was. Neil had admitted that he found the whole situation exciting, and Todd had to agree. Now they both wanted to sneak as many glances at Sal without his prosthetic on as much as possible.

“Uh, Todd?”

The ginger blinked and shook his head, snapped out of his meandering thoughts. “Yes, Sally?”

“You’re staring at me.”

“Oh.” Beat. “Sorry.”

Sal’s eyes darted to the floor. “You’re thinking about my face.”

“One of the things I was thinking about in regards to you, yes.” Todd spoke, trying to keep his voice measured. “While I was aware that you never were going to look like I or anyone else pictured in our heads, I never expected you to look so...” He made a motion with his hands near his own face, almost cupping his cheeks. “I really don’t have any other way to describe you. You look like a _doll_.”

Sal laughed wryly, not looking up at the man beside him. “I guess I never lost the baby face.” He slipped his prosthesis on, clipping the clasps behind his head rather hastily.

“I find it to be captivating.” All he got as a response was a grunt.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t expect you not to look since I’ve already showed you my face.”

“That is absolutely not the case, Sal!” Todd nearly shouted, clambering to his feet. “My mind runs away from me. That’s all. It’s okay to still feel insecure. Showing me your face _once_ isn’t an invitation, although I would certainly _like_ to see you without your prosthetic more.” Todd clapped his hands on Sal’s shoulders. “I know this won’t magically cure you, but you look fine. You really do.”

“Thanks.” Todd could feel the smile Sal gave, his eyes creasing at the corners like they always did. It was another experience altogether to actually see him smile however. The right side of his mouth was pulled back and a little droopy, making his mouth slightly lopsided. It only served to make him even cuter. Todd also liked the way his nose crinkled _a lot_. Neil’s did that, too.

“You know,” Sal began, picking at his nails. “Whenever I’m outside on the fire escape, I stand there without my prosthetic. I’m alone, it’s quiet and peaceful, so I like to let the wind brush my face and smell the woods and whatever else without being hindered. It’s nice, to experience the world without a barrier, and not worry about anything.” He gestured to his mask. “But, whenever I do that, or hang out my window for that matter, I can’t help but yearn to walk out without it on, and leave it behind.”

“Well, if that’s what you truly want, then you’re stepping in the right direction, slowly but surely.” Todd pulled Sal into an embrace, and the smaller man happily wrapped his arms around his torso. “I’m proud of you either way, Sally.”

“Thanks, Todd.” Sal broke away from the hug. “Alright, now that we got all of that mushy shit out of the way, it’s time for some PE!” He threw up and his arms and sprinted out of the locker room, Todd shaking his head and following suit.

“I’m not a sprinter, Sal, dammit!”

“Become one, then!” Sal called back. It really was that easy of a thought, huh? Sal could be so carefree sometimes; Todd really enjoyed that. He could take some notes from Larry and Sal. He _should_. Well, he earned the nickname “the Twin Devils” with Ash for a reason, so maybe he really didn’t. Did it matter? No, it didn’t, he decided. His friends loved him the way he was, and he was happy.

 

 

The truck ride back to Addison Apartments was a pleasant one. Travis and Larry made idle chitchat up front. Sal had his head pressed against the headrest, his eyes closed. He took all his pent up aggression out during their PE classes, which usually left him exhausted. At least it made him a good athlete in most cases. Todd wasn’t nearly as worn out as Sal, so he and Chug let the poor thing alone. He and Sal were going back out soon after they returned home.

Todd rested his shoulder against the door, looking out the window. They didn’t live too far away from the apartment complex, but it was an enjoyable ride nonetheless. He wondered if he could get Sal to open up to him more later as he watched an elderly woman walking her dog in the opposite direction they were headed.

Travis pulled into the parking lot, parking the truck right next to the side doors leading directly into the staircase. Todd helped Sal out of the vehicle, as he had fallen asleep mere moments before they arrived. The quintet entered the building and began to ascend the stairs, much to Chug’s dismay. They couldn’t all fit in the elevator together, but Chug wasn’t finished with the conversation he started with Travis, so he decided not to break off from the group.

Todd gave Sal a hug and told him he’d go up to his apartment when he was ready. The four remaining stayed on the third floor for a few moments as Chug and Travis wrapped up their chat, and then the throuple made way for their own apartment (well, Larry didn’t live with them, but he planned on staying the night).

Sal entered their bedroom (it was no longer just _his_ at this point, which excited him) and set his backpack on the floor by his desk. He knelt on the floor in front of his alter, and opened the doors, sifting through his tools. He packed away what he decided to take with him into a simple pleather messenger bag Maple bought him as a birthday present almost two years ago. He set the bag down by the front door when he was finished, then made his way over to the sofa, situating himself between his two boyfriends.

“Do you have an idea when you’ll be coming home?” Travis asked, smooching Sal’s head.

“I’m not really sure. Like we said earlier, it’s four hours of just driving, and we’re eating out. I’d say somewhere between ten and eleven at night, maybe later.”

“Don’t stay out too late, babe.” Larry took Sal’s hand and smoothed his thumb over the back of it.

“While you’re waiting for Todd, you should do your homework.”

“Oh fuck, you’re right!” The two men had to back away from Sal as he shot up from the couch and dashed to his bedroom.

Travis slid into the spot Sal was previously seated, closing the gap between him and Larry, resting his head on the larger male’s chest. “I worry about him, Lar.”

“Yeah,” the brunet hummed, brushing fingers through blond locks. “I hope Todd’ll keep ‘im outta trouble.”

Some time later there was knocking on their front door. Travis kissed Larry’s cheek before reluctantly getting up from his very comfortable spot and heading to the door. He opens it up and sees the ginger smile at him. “Hi, Todd.”

“Hey, Trav,” he greets the other, pushing his way inside. “Where’s Sal?” Travis points to their bedroom door before leaving to rejoin Larry. Todd turns the doorknob and pokes his head in. “Sal?”

Sal flinches. “Oh, hi, Todd.” He gets out of his chair and leaves his room, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s get goin’.”

“Be careful!” Travis calls out from the couch.

“Yeah, we will,” Sal replies. The duo says their goodbyes before exiting the apartment and heading down the stairwell. Sal fidgets with the truck keys as he descends. They had a long drive ahead of them.

The men throw their belongings into the backseat of the truck before climbing into the front. Sal turns on the ignition and pulls out of the parking lot.

“Do you know how to get to the old pharmacy?” Todd questioned, checking to see if Sal needed him to read out directions or something.

“I do. My folks live out this way, so I’m actually pretty familiar with the backwoods outside of Nockfell.”

Oh. Well, that was something new. He was learning more and more about Sal every day, making him realize that he and their friends didn’t actually know Sal all that well. Not like they weren’t genuinely friends, but Sal was just _so_ private.

“Uh, hey...” Sal hesitated, clearing his throat. They were going to be with each other for a while, may as well confront Todd about what he’s had his mind on for a while. “I’m sorry if I ever… Snub you or anything. You’re smart and you work hard, so it must be hard when you end up being second to some weirdo who dozes off in class.”

Todd scrunched his eyebrows together. “What? I’m not… Jealous of you, Sal. And honestly, you’re a hard worker, too. If you get awarded for anything, it’s because you earned it, and I’m proud of you.”

“I don’t really deserve anything, if we’re really being honest.”

“Sal, what’s brought this up for you?”

The blue-haired man sighed. “I dunno. I always feel like I’m taking away from other people when I end up at the top. Like, if I end up being valedictorian, then I took that away from you.”

Todd shook his head in disbelief. “Sal, I will be so proud of you if you become valedictorian, but in the end it doesn’t matter. You know that right? You don’t need to be perfect to get somewhere in life. You’re not screwing me over, or anyone else for that matter.”

“I suppose...” Sal drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. “My family… Kinda breathes down my neck about this stuff. But I’d rather them push me than Pip.”

Todd looked to Sal, wishing he could see his face. “Is it just you and Philip? In this generation, I mean.”

“Yeah, it’s just me n’ Pip. And not to throw Pip under the bus, but he’s perfectly average. He’s not outstandingly smart or well behaved or something. He’s also not a problem child. He’ll get to be wherever he wants, but he’ll do it while being in the background...” Sal trailed off, seemingly not wanting to continue.

“So that leads you being the child your family focuses on.”

“Yeah… I’m smart, athletic, and charismatic. I’m imperfectly perfect and my aunt gobbles that shit right up. She pushes so much pressure on me to be this… Robot. She wants me to go to fucking _Harvard_.”

Todd grimaced. “You absolutely do not belong in a big prestigious university like Harvard.”

“Auntie Irene almost had a stroke when I told her I wanted to study music. ‘But you’re too smart for that! Such a waste!’”

Todd reached out and placed his hand on Sal’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I know she means well. Since my mom died, I think she’s tried to be a mother figure for me. I just wish she’d lay off. But I can’t help but get caught up in all this… Crap.”

“I noticed that you were really tensed up in Physics. Is that why?”

“Partially.”

“Sal, if you’re getting caught up in what our teacher suggests for you, she’s only just trying to help. And she’s just a teacher. Once you’re done with Mrs. George, you’ll never have to deal with her again.” Sal scoffed at the statement, making Todd pull away. “What, am I wrong?”

“Oh my god, you really don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

Sal rolled his eyes and shook his head. “What’s my aunt’s name?”

Todd fiddled with his shirt. What did this have to do with anything? “Irene?”

“Yes. Now, what’s our physics teacher’s first name?”

Todd thought for a moment, neither remembering nor connecting the dots. “I can’t remember.”

“Oh my god, Todd! _Irene!_ Our fucking teacher is _my aunt!_ ” Sal shouted, all this boiling anxiety bubbling over, making him explode.

“Oh...” He felt dumb, and small. That was one thing that explained why Sal was always so private and secretly stressed out. “So you really can’t get away from her, huh?”

“No, I can’t!” He snapped, hands tightly clutching the wheel. Sal took a few breaths and the two sat in silence for a few minutes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

“It’s okay. You’re stressed. Happens to the best of us.” Todd leaned back against his seat. “I know what it’s like, being the ‘smart kid’ or whatever else. You fall into this mold that everyone expects of you, then you start questioning yourself when you start falling out of it. But, that’s okay. Keep just being you, Sal. I know I’m not the only one rooting for you. I know that won’t make all this pressure disappear, but trust me when I say not being perfect is okay. It’s impossible to be perfect anyway.

“I’m proud of you, Sal. I know I’ve said that a thousand times lately, but I really, really am. You’ve been breaking down a lot of your barriers, and that takes a lot of effort. You have to be terrified out of your wits.”

Sal let Todd’s words hang in the air. “Thanks, Todd. You’ve been really supportive of me, and I really don’t know where I’d be without you or Maple. Or anyone else for that matter.”

“One last thing, Sal: thank _you_ , for trusting me enough to open up.”

That made Sal feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Sal. We’re best buds, and I’ll always be here for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr! lollipopdollie.tumblr.com  
> Discord server: https://discord.gg/TxJp4bf


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